NEWS
Brenntag sees off ‘ activist ’ candidates
At their AGM on 15 June , Brenntag shareholders voted for the company ’ s supervisory board candidates and rejected alternatives from ‘ activist ’ investor PrimeStone Capital , which has been agitating for a radical change in strategy . All of the motions proposed by the board were also approved , including a € 2 / share divided payout .
Richard Ridinger was re-elected as a member of the supervisory board with 62.71 % of the votes cast , while Sujatha Chandrasekaran was newly elected with 61.79 %. At its constituent meeting following the AGM , the supervisory board elected Ridinger as chairman .
PrimeStone , which has a 2 % stake in Brenntag , has called for the company to separate the Essentials and Specialties businesses as a way to unlock greater shareholder value , on the basis that the company has underperformed compared to its peers . However , the shares are 20 % up this year to € 72 , which may have dampened enthusiasm for change .
CEO Christian Kohlpaintner strongly opposed a separation , saying that the time was not right for such a move , Specialties having been impacted by high costs and falling demand in Q1 2023 . “ In the short term , our focus is on ... closing the performance gap at Brenntag Specialties and to drive forward the operational structure in both divisions towards greater independence ,” he said .
After the vote , PrimeStone published a letter to shareholders , pointing out that Brenntag ’ s nominees received “ the lowest level of support of any DAX company in the recent past ” – at 38 % against an average of 3 %. It also noted that ISS and Glass Lewis , the two largest governance institutions in the world , endorsed its stand .
All this , PrimeStone said , “ reveals a deep frustration among Brenntag ’ s shareholders ” and a demand for improved overall governance with a more open supervisory board ; an “ accelerated pace of improvement ” at Brenntag Specialties ; and a “ serious fact-based consideration of the separation of Essentials and Specialties with a heightened sense of urgency ”.
“ We hope the Supervisory Board has heard this message from shareholders and understands that the status quo is untenable ,” PrimeStone concluded , adding that it looks forward to Brenntag ’ s announcements on “ concrete decisions for the operating model of both divisions ” before the summer break .
Subsequently , Brenntag acquired Shanghai Saifu Chemical Development , a Chinese speciality distributor specialising in personal care ingredients , while also being active in coatings , emulsion polymerisation and cleaning chemicals . The company employs over 100 employees and has more than 1,000 customers in the Greater China region .
IN BRIEF
CMF from wood plant Origin Materials has started up the first commercial-scale biobased chloromethyl furfural ( CMF ) plant at Sarnia , Ontario . CMF is a building block to many downstream products , including paraxylene and furandicarboxylic acid , which can be used in products and materials like polyethylene furanoate . The plant will also produce hydrothermal carbon , with uses in carbon black . Both will be based on wood residues .
Silica expansion AGC ’ s Si-Tech subsidiary is to increase capacity for Resifa Sunsphere at its Wakamatsu plant by about 150 %. The material is a naturally-derived silica that is moulded into spheres using a proprietary process . It is used in cosmetics to reduce stickiness , add blurring effects on wrinkles and blemishes via to its light scattering function , and giving light and smooth feeling , the company said .
Axplora carve-out Axplora has finalised the carve-out of the former Novasep Process Solutions , which is being relaunched under the name of Applexion to offer liquid separation and purification services to the agro-food industry under the ownership of private equity firm Bridgepoint . This leaves Axplora , created by the merger of Novasep and PharmaZell last year , more focused on APIs and CDMO services .
Aether oilfield deal India ’ s Aether Industries has signed a Letter of Intent to be a strategic supplier and contract manufacturing partner with one of three largest US-based global oil field services companies , supplying about 16,000 tonnes / year of four unnamed ‘ strategic products ’. A formal agreement should be concluded within three months .
JUL / AUG 2023 SPECCHEMONLINE . COM
9