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Solstice to buy specialty chemical firm Element Solutions

UK: Refrigerant manufacturer Solstice has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Florida-based specialty chemical manufacturer and supplier Element Solutions Inc in a deal valued at approximately $14.5bn.

Established in 2013 and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Element Solutions manufactures and supplies specialty chemicals for a broad range of applications in mobile phones, consumer electronics, communication infrastructure, automobile, industrial surface finishing, consumer packaging and offshore oil production and drilling.

The Company owns a number of subsidiaries, which go to market under different brands, including MacDermid, Compugraphics, Fernox, Electrolube and Kester.

Fernox is well known in the heating industry as a leading manufacturer of water treatment chemical products, central heating system filters, plumbing consumables and diagnostic testing services. 

The group also includes EFC Gases & Advanced Materials, a supplier of a range of industrial gases including the “natural” refrigerants ammonia, CO2 and hydrocarbons propane and isobutane. 

In all, Element Solutions has 63 manufacturing and R&D sites in 18 countries.

On a combined basis, Solstice and Element would have full year 2025 net sales of approximately $6.8bn. 

“Overall, we believe the combined company will be very well-positioned to benefit from generational tailwinds in high-growth end markets,” said David Sewell, Solstice president and CEO. 

“We intend to blend the best of our talents and cultures to build an organisation with a broader technology platform and a stronger ability to co-innovate with customers to develop unique solutions addressing emerging, complex requirements from our combined customer base,” he added.

The combination advances Solstice’s strategy to build a scaled advanced materials platform with greater exposure to electronics, AI infrastructure, thermal management, data centre cooling applications and other attractive specialty markets.

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