Vertellus Completes Purchase of Dow’s Sodium Borohydride Business

Vertellus, a global leading producer of specialty chemicals for the life sciences market and other industrial sectors, has closed on its acquisition of The Dow Chemical Company’s Sodium Borohydride (“SBH”) business.

The acquisition expands Vertellus’ life sciences business, adding new process aids and synthesis capabilities to the company’s asset structure. With a state-of-art manufacturing facility located in Elma, Wash., the acquired SBH business is the leading manufacturer of sodium borohydride used in the synthesis of fine chemicals, including pharmaceutical ingredients and agrochemicals. As a process aid used in the life sciences sector, sodium borohydride assists in the manufacture of a wide variety of APIs including high growth antiretrovirals for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

The acquisition follows on the November 2014 purchase by Vertellus of Pentagon Chemicals (Holdings) UK Ltd., expanding the company’s agrochemical offerings in the life science sector. With the completion of both acquisitions, revenues from life science applications constitute more than 65% of the company’s total revenue.

Remarking on the SBH acquisition, Vertellus CEO Rich Preziotti stated: “The integration of the SBH business into Vertellus’ asset structure enhances the size, scale and scope of our offerings in the high-growth synthesis segment, providing new tools to serve global pharma manufacturers’ needs. We look forward to investing in additional R&D that further leverages our capabilities and capacity at this world-class manufacturing facility.”