US conglomerate Standard Industries (Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey; www.standardindustries.com) said it has acquired compatriot speciality chemicals company W.R. Grace (Columbia, Maryland; www.grace.com) in an all-cash deal worth USD 7 bn (EUR 5.8 bn). The purchase will run through Standard’s 40 North investment platform, which has been a long-time and largest shareholder in W.R. Grace.

The parties said they expect the transaction to close in Q4 2021. Upon completion, W.R. Grace is to become a privately held company and its common stock will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The takeover target is expected to operate as a standalone company within Standard Industries Holdings, which includes roofing and building supply companies BMI Group, GAF, GAF Energy, Schiedel, Siplast, and SGI.

W.R Grace offers a number of products for polyolefins. The company purchased the “Unipol” polypropylene processing technology from Dow (Midland, Michigan / USA ; www.dow.com) in 2013 (see Plasteurope.com of 06.12.2013). It bought the global polyolefin catalyst business of BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) in 2016 (see Plasteurope.com of 07.07.2016). The catalyst portfolio of the company also includes materials for metallocene types, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), and hydroprocessing, which W.R. Grace markets with Chevron.

Freedonia industry analyst Matt Zielenski said the acquisition will allow W.R. Grace to broaden its portfolio of businesses and position itself as a leading provider of catalysts.