Rockwood's Novasep is going to investors

Rockwood Holdings has agreed to sell its Novasep fine chemicals and chromatography subsidiary to a consortium of Gilde Buy Out Partners, Banexi Capital, and Novasep management. The transaction values the French company at about $560 million. Rockwood acquired Novasep in 2004 and more than doubled its size by folding in its own Dynamic Synthesis fine chemicals business. The combined firm's annual sales today are about $370 million. Novasep CEO Roger Marc Nicoud says the understanding "was for our cooperation with Rockwood to be limited in time. Today, it is time for Novasep to go back to more independence."