EC Clears DSM Sale Of Benzoates Unit

The European Commission has approved DSM’s sale of its DSM Special Products business in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to Sun Capital Partners. The sale had come before the EC because Sun’s Emerald Performance Materials affiliate in the U.S. and DSM are two of only a few world producers of benzoic acid, benzyl alcohol, and benzaldehyde. The commission blocked DSM’s earlier attempt to sell the business to Arsenal Capital Partners, a firm that controlled a European benzoic acid plant. This time, though, the EC concluded that “the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area.”