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Chemours to sell glycolic acid business for $137M

Jacob Owens June 5, 2023

WILMINGTON – As it continues to pare its existing business lines to adjust for future target industries, Chemours has reached a sale agreement for its glycolic acid business worth $137 million. Glycolic acid, also known as hydroxyacetic acid, is a naturally occurring compound that has a broad range of uses from skincare to household cleaners

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[caption id="attachment_217915" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]

Chemours will sell its glycolic acid business, which will further pare down its already small Chemical Solutions segment. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption] WILMINGTON – As it continues to pare its existing business lines to adjust for future target industries, Chemours has reached a sale agreement for its glycolic acid business worth $137 million. Glycolic acid, also known as hydroxyacetic acid, is a naturally occurring compound that has a broad range of uses from skincare to household cleaners to petroleum refining. Chemours synthesizes the product at a manufacturing plant in Belle, W.V., and has been a supplier of the chemical for more than 70 years. The business line falls under Chemours’s Chemical Solutions segment, along with Vazo free radical initiators and dimethyl sulfate. In 2022, the segment saw net sales of $116 million and EBITDA of only $2 million – less than 1% of the company’s overall EBITDA. On June 1, the Wilmington-based Chemours announced that it has reached a sale deal with newly created PureTech Scientific, a company founded and backed by Iron Path Capital, a Nashville-based private equity firm focused on lower-middle market investments across the specialty industrial and health care sectors. The upstart PureTech Scientific aims to become the global leader in organic synthesis of ultra-high purity alpha hydroxy acids, which includes glycolic acid, for the life sciences and specialty chemical industries. The deal is expected to close by the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. “Creating a better world through the power of our chemistry requires a clear focus on where to play and how to win,” Mark Newman, president and CEO at Chemours, said in a statement announcing the deal. “While our goal is to position every one of our businesses for growth, over the past several months it became clear that PureTech Scientific and Iron Path Capital may be best positioned to take Glycolic Acid to the next level. We’re incredibly proud and appreciative of our Glycolic Acid team and wish them all the best in this exciting next chapter.” Iron Path Capital, which has 13 companies in its portfolio, has already acquired Gelest, which designs and manufactures metal-organic compounds for the life science, and Boulder Scientific, which manufactures specialty catalysts, organometallic compounds and other specialty chemicals used in plastics, microelectronics, defense and aerospace industries. “Our goal is to leverage Iron Path’s extensive operational expertise and technological capabilities to support PureTech Scientific’s growth plans through continued innovation with our customers,” Iron Path co-founder and managing partner Scott Mraz said in a statement. The sale of the glycolic acid business would be the first divestiture by Chemours in almost two years, after it sold its mining solutions division to a Czech chemical company for $521 million in December 2021. That segment was also a part of the Chemical Solutions segment, which is rapidly being divested from the company.

Chemours to sell glycolic acid business for $137M

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