NEWS
Tessenderlo takes 20 % stake in FMC
Belgium-based industrial company Tessenderlo Group has made an equity investment of about $ 400 million in agricultural sciences company FMC Corporation. Upon completion it will own approximately 20 % of the outstanding shares of FMC common stock.
“ Our investment in FMC perfectly aligns with Tessenderlo Group’ s strategy to expand our agro platform,” commented Luc Tack, CEO of Tessenderlo Group. FMC, he added, has“ meaningful long-term potential, driven by a new generation of proprietary molecules that are renewing its portfolio and strengthening its competitive position”.
This concludes the exploration of strategic options FMC’ s board began in February. It will use the proceeds to pay down debt, bringing it nearly half way to its $ 1 billion target. For Tessenderlo it is a continuation of recent moves to unlock capital, sharpen its strategic focus and improve financial flexibility.
These have included amending its revolving credit facility to achieve“ significant” covenant relief; raising $ 1.2 billion in a secured high-yield bond offering; selling its Indian business for $ 252 million; a new supply and license agreement with Corteva that involves a $ 200 million payment; and a framework agreement for a $ 114 million sale and lease back of its property in Newark, Delaware.
BASF opens updated ACCF plant
BASF has opened its fully modernised acid chlorides and chloroformates( ACCFs) plant( pictured) at its largest site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The“ low three-digit million-euro investment” will increase capacity by about 30 % and“ includes a fundamental renewal of the production infrastructure” for these products, the company said.
ACCFs, which BASF’ s Intermediates division also makes in South Korea, are used as building blocks in applications including pharmaceuticals, crop protection products, organic peroxides, coatings, plastics and rubber mixtures. Since 2025, BASF has produced all 25 Ludwigshafen ACCFs using renewable electricity credits, including all upstream raw material processes. This has reduced the portfolio’ s product carbon footprint by an average of 19 %.
Earlier BASF has opened a new plant at its Düsseldorf site for the production of speciality emollients, particularly for skin and sun protection products. The investment was said to be in the mid-double-digit million euro range. Düsseldorf is BASF ' s third-largest site in Europe and its largest site worldwide for the production and development of cosmetic ingredients.
IN BRIEF
Givaudan invests in Microcaps
Givaudan has made an unspecified equity investment and strategic collaboration with Swiss company Microcaps. This unites its fragrance formulation expertise with Microcaps’ precision microencapsulation technology, especially for nonalcoholic fine fragrance performance, thus opening up other opportunities in fragrances and beauty products.
Kurita sets up Indian JV
Japan’ s Kurita Industries has established a joint venture with Membrane Group India, a specialist in water treatment equipment. This will offer advanced water treatment, wastewater recycling, resource recovery, water analysis services and environmental services for the electronics industry, primarily the semiconductor sector, which is expected to grow to $ 110 billion by 2030.
Celtic partners with Evonik
Evonik has signed an agreement to use bio-butanol from Scottish green chemical producer Celtic Renewables for use in its Ecohance Soft BOL, which is described as a sustainable emollient for cosmetics and personal care products. Celtic derives the material from a mixture of local feedstocks, including whisky pot ale and rejected potatoes.
Barentz opens Indian lab
Speciality ingredients firm Barentz has opened an application laboratory in Mumbai for personal care applications, including skin, hair and sun care, colour cosmetics and personal hygiene. The company describes this as“ a hands-on innovation hub where customers and principals can collaborate with Barentz’ s technical teams to accelerate formulation development and bring differentiated products to market faster”.
SEP / OCT 2026 SPECCHEMONLINE. COM
13