Kemira sells ChemSolutions' formic acid business to US-based Taminco

Finnish firm Kemira signed an agreement on December 23, 2013, to sell its formic acid business, including the feed and the airport runway deicing product lines, to Taminco (Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA). The businesses sold had combined revenue of approximately Euro 140 million in 2012. The transaction includes a manufacturing asset for formic acid in Oulu, Finland and approximately 160 employees will transfer to Taminco. The transaction is subject to the fulfillment of customary closing conditions, and the closing is expected during the first quarter in 2014. The agreed transaction price is Euro 140 million and will be paid fully at closing.
 
Sodium percarbonate, the remaining business within the ChemSolutions segment, will stay within Kemira and will be reported as part of the Paper segment. After the transaction is closed, the ChemSolutions segment will be discontinued.
 
ChemSolutions is a well performing and solid business - however, with no synergies to Kemira's water related core businesses. After the divestment of the formic acid business, Kemira will become a purely water-focused chemical company based on three segments: Paper, Oil & Mining, and Municipal & Industrial. After the successful execution of several non-core divestments in 2013, Kemira's management resources and financing capabilities will be fully focused on growth and profitability improvement in the core businesses, said Wolfgang Büchele, President and CEO, Kemira.
 
As a leading specialty chemical producer, Taminco is excited to advance its long term, ongoing strategy of expansion into key markets through the addition of high quality, niche businesses. “Our entry into the formic acid space is an opportunity to leverage our existing skill-set to expand into attractive new product lines, as well as achieve numerous synergies that will continue to optimise value for all of our stakeholders,” said Laurent Lenoir, Chief Executive Officer, Taminco.