US chemical maker Platform expands with Alent purchase

US chemical company Platform Specialty Products will acquire British speciality chemicals and materials maker Alent for approximately $2.1 billion (£1.34 billion). Alent is made up of a surface chemistries business named Enthone – which supplies electroplating chemistry to the electronics, automotive and industrial industries – and assembly materials business Alpha – which supplies interconnect materials, primarily for electronics applications.

Florida-based Platform explained that its purchase of Alent will allow it to ‘combine complementary product portfolios and geographical footprints’, as well as to improve the geographic range and product capabilities in surface treatment. The company estimates that the combined group will be able to achieve annual pre-tax cost synergies of $50 million, over the next three years. The deal is expected to close in late 2015 or in early 2016.

Alent is primarily involved in producing materials for electronics, which is an area that Platform has been bolstering lately with its acquisition of OM Group’s electronic materials business in June. In fact, Platform has been on a buying spree recently, acquiring the agrichemical and nutrition products firm Arysta for $3.5 billion last year, as well as a couple of smaller agrichemical businesses.