Huntsman acquiring additives maker Gabriel Performance Products for $250 million

Specialty chemical supplier Huntsman Corp. is acquiring Akron, Ohio-based additives maker Gabriel Performance Products for US$250 million.

Gabriel supplies specialty additives and epoxy curing agents for coatings, adhesives, sealants and composites. Huntsman, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, is acquiring Gabriel from Audax Private Equity of Boston and San Francisco.

Gabriel reported 2019 revenues of approximately US$106 million, and operates three manufacturing facilities located in Ashtabula, Ohio, Harrison City, Pa., and Rock Hill, S.C.

“The acquisition of Gabriel Performance Products broadens the offering in our specialty portfolio and is complementary to our recent acquisition of CVC,” Huntsman Advanced Materials president Scott Wright said in a news release. “Gabriel makes highly specialized toughening and curing agents and other additives used in a wide range of composite, adhesive and coatings applications. We expect that the Gabriel business will strengthen our North America footprint and provide significant commercial synergies as we expand and globalize their specialty products across our global footprint and customer base.”

Huntsman acquired specialty chemical maker CVC in May 2020 for US$300 million.

With [the Gabriel Performance Products] acquisition we conclude a series of strategic initiatives in our Advanced Materials division we started in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Huntsman chairman, president and CEO Peter Huntsman. “Our initial intent was to complete the acquisitions of Gabriel and CVC simultaneously, together with the divestiture of our India DIY business earlier this year. Despite the challenges created by COVID, I am pleased that we have already closed on two of the transactions”.

Huntsman’s purchase of Gabriel Performance Products is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.