Ardian, an independent private investment company, has agreed to acquired the Exclusive Synthesis (ES) and Maleic Anhydride Intermediates & Specialties (IM) business activities, based in Linz, Austria, of DPx Holdings B.V. The parties have agreed not to disclose details of the transaction. The completion of the transaction is still subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

DPx Holdings, privately owned by the private-equity firm JLL Partners (51%) and Royal DSM (49%), was the result of a $2.65-billion deal between the two entities, first announced in November 2013 and completed in March 2014 involving the merger of DSM Pharmaceutical Products and Patheon. One piece of that combined entity representing a former DSM business was synthesis services for the agricultural chemical industry and maleic anhydride and specialty esters used in a broad range of industries and specialty products.

ES develops and produces chemical intermediate products for agriculture and other industries. IM produces maleic anhydride, a large number of intermediates, derivatives, and esters. ES and IM generated combined sales of around EUR 200 million ($220 million) for the 2014 financial year and have around 390 employees.

In another deal, LIVIA Group, a German-based industrial holding, has agreed to acquire Patheon’s Capua manufacturing facility in Capua, Italy and associated employees. The Capua facility provides microbial fermentation-based manufacturing which includes 1,400 cubic meters of fermentor capacity. Capua delivers enzymes, therapeutic proteins, and small molecules for applications in the food, feed, pharma, agrochemical and fine chemical industry. In addition to its regular production, Capua offers pilot-plant capabilities for customized product development, process scale-up,and validation.

Source: Patheon (Ardian) and Patheon (Capua)