W.R. Grace has formally opened an expansion of the pharmaceutical CDMO expansion project it began 21 months ago at its site in South Haven, Michigan. The expansion has added 25% more capacity, including a new 15 m3 Hastelloy centrifuge and three 15 m3 multi-purpose chemical reactors.
W. R. Grace & Co. has announced plans to expand its CDMO facility in South Haven, Michigan, by January 2024. It will add an 18 m3 multi-purpose glass-lined and stainless steel reactor train to two existing trains of the same size, as well as a Hastelloy centrifuge to facilitate product isolation.
A five-month battle over the ownership of W. R. Grace & Co. came to an end on 26 April, when the company entered into a definitive agreement with Standard Industries Holdings will acquire it in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $7.0 billion. This includes Grace’s pending acquisition of Albemarle Fine Chemistry Services (FCS).
W.R. Grace & Co. has agreed to acquire the Fine Chemistry Services (FCS) business of its fellow US speciality chemicals company, Albemarle, in a deal that is expected to close in Q2, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. This will bring Grace sites at Tyrone, Pennsylvania, and South Haven, Michigan. FCS will fit within Pharma & Consumer, which Grace described as “the largest, fastest growing and most profitable sub-segment” in its Materials Technologies business.
Two players in speciality chemicals, Elementis in the UK and W.R. Grace in the US, have both been approached with conditional takeover offers and have both rejected them in recent weeks.
Elementis announced on 12 November that it had received a preliminary conditional proposal from Minerals Technologies in relation to a possible cash offer at £1.07/share. Based on consultation with its financial adviser, it concluded that this “significantly undervalued Elementis and its future prospects” and the board unanimously rejected it.
