Trocellen (Troisdorf / Germany; www.trocellen.com), by its own account Europe's leading manufacturer of cross-linked polyolefin (XLPO) foam, is to be sold by parent company HT Troplast to a 60:40 joint venture of Furukawa Electric Co (Tokyo / Japan; www.furukawa.co.jp) and Otsuka Chemical Co (Osaka / Japan; www.otsukany.com). With the takeover, Furukawa, currently world's fourth largest producer of XLPO foams, will move into second place and double its sales. It also will gain a presence for the first time in the European market. HT Troplast is owned by private equity investors Advent International and the Carlyle Group.