Perstorp announces the agreement to acquire the pentaerythritol, Penta, business from Ashland Inc. The acquisition is part of a larger, ambitious investment campaign to increase polyol capacity.

Perstorp has, through its subsidiary Perstorp Polyols Inc., signed an agreement with Hercules Incorporated, a subsidiary of specialty chemicals company Ashland Inc., for the acquisition of its Penta business, related technology and certain assets. It does not include the manufacturing plant in Louisiana, Mo., any real estate or employees. The transaction is fully in line with the companies strategies going forward. For Perstorp this is part of an ambitious investment campaign to increase Polyol production.

"The Penta business is a core area within Perstorp and these products have been key in the development of Perstorp as an international company. The US market in particular has historically been a focus for us for this business", Perstorp President and CEO Martin Lundin says. "This acquisition is an opportunity to further grow together with our customers in their various applications."

"Perstorp plans to supply all needs out of the plants we are running at present and we will have sufficient capacity to supply both our current, and new customers. With the additional volumes, as well as equipment and know-how resulting from this acquisition, we plan to increase capacity to meet the customers long-term needs", Ulrika Andersson, Business Unit Manger Penta & Formates, says.

The acquisition is subject to fulfillment of certain conditions and is expected to be completed within 60 days.

The polyalcohol Penta is used in applications such as alkyd resins, PVC stabilizers, synthetic lubricants, varnishes, and other products and Perstorp is now producing Penta in three different production plants in Germany, the US and Sweden. Investments will mainly take place in Perstorps US facility.

About Perstorp

Perstorp creates Winning Formulas that offer much more than innovative chemical solutions. The companys role is to increase the application or product competitiveness, using specially formulated chemicals. The company works hard to provide a competitive edge to the success.