Chemical Market Associates Inc. — one of the global market's best-known plastics and chemicals consulting firms — has been acquired by publicly held consulting firm IHS Inc. for an undisclosed price.
The deal “broadens our base of resources tremendously,” CMAI global plastics business director Howard Rappaport said by phone May 5. “We'll now have access to resources in energy, economic, defense and other sectors.”
Rappaport declined to provide an estimate of CMAI's annual revenue. The firm was founded in 1979 by chemical industry veterans Pat Baggett and Tom Beasley, who had been working at DeWitt & Co. Inc. consulting firm in Houston. Today, CMAI employs between 180 and 200 worldwide, including 60-70 consultants. The firm is owned by 45-50 of those consultants, who hold varying equity stakes.
Gary Adams joined CMAI in 1990 and has served as the firm's president since 1990. Chief Operating Officer Mark Fisler is CMAI's longest-tenured employee, joining in 1981.
Englewood, Colo.-based IHS announced the deal in a May 4 news release. In the release, IHS Chairman and CEO Jerre Stead said CMAI's “comprehensive information and analysis adds to our event-driven supply-chain information strategy, and the firm's price discovery and analysis business will broaden IHS commodities and cost information capabilities.
“CMAI's unique and proprietary chemical information can be used throughout IHS to deliver additional high-value analytical services to our global customers,” Stead added.
CMAI is headquartered in Houston, with offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Dusseldorf, Germany; London, New York, Bangkok, Shanghai and Singapore. The firm provides market analysis and business advisory services to the global plastics, petrochemical and specialty chemicals industries, among others. CMAI also sponsors conferences and related events.
The deal is already the fifth acquisition by IHS in 2011, and its 30th since 2007. Late last year, IHS acquired trade magazine Chemical Week and consultancy Access Intelligence, which included SRI Consulting Inc., a firm that does research work in chemicals, plastics and energy markets.
IHS — with annual sales of more than $1 billion — also owns Harriman Chemsult Ltd., a consulting firm focused on the vinyls chain, including PVC, and Chemical Engineering magazine.
“I think [CMAI] rounds out [IHS'] chemical sector coverage,” Rappaport said.