Ascend Performance Materials has acquired the compounding business of Indian materials firm Formulated Polymers Ltd. for an undisclosed price.
The deal includes a manufacturing site in Chennai and several warehouses across India. Officials with Ascend in Houston said in a news release that the deal will establish the firm's first manufacturing base in the subcontinent and strengthen its global reach in electrical and e-mobility applications.
Formulated Polymers has operated for more than 30 years as a nylon compounder and is a licensee of Ascend's Starflam-brand flame-retardant nylon materials.
"Demand for our materials in India is strong and growing," Ascend President and CEO Phil McDivitt said. "The team at Formulated Polymers has built an excellent, diversified business with a proven track record of technology development in [nylons]."
The deal is expected to close on May 1, after receiving necessary approvals. Earlier this year, Ascend announced plans to build a plant making nylon feedstock hexamethylene diamine in Lianyungang, China. That plant will be Ascend's first chemical production facility outside of the U.S., as well as the firm's largest non-U.S. investment.
Ascend ranks as a global leader in nylon 6/6 resins and compounds. The firm has annual sales of more than $3 billion. Ascend is a unit of investment firm SK Capital Partners of New York. In recent years, Ascend has made several acquisitions, including buying a compounding plant in Mexico from DM Color Mexicana SA de CV in late 2021.
