Business Roundup

Styrolution, the Ineos styrenic polymers division, has named Kevin McQuade, 58, its new CEO. He replaces Roberto Gualdoni, who is leaving the company at the end of the year for personal reasons. McQuade had been the commercial director for the styrenics business of Ineos, which completed the purchase of BASF’s stake in Styrolution last month.

Momentive Specialty Chemicals is changing its name back to Hexion early next year. The company changed its name in 2010 when it planned to merge with its sister company Momentive Performance Materials, which recently emerged from bankruptcy.

Solvay is expanding capacity for its polyetheretherketone and polyaryletherketone resins by 25% late next year at its plant in Panoli, Gujarat, India. The company says the market for the specialty polymers is growing by nearly 10% annually.

PolyOne, a plastics compounding specialist, has acquired specialty assets from Accella Performance Materials for $49 million. Accella, which is owned by the private equity firm Arsenal Capital, retains its polyurethanes and recycled rubber divisions.

Ajinomoto will increase by 2,500 metric tons its annual production capacity for feed-use tryptophan at its plant in Amiens, France. The company says it will deploy new production technologies that reduce fuel and raw materials consumption.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has made three financing moves to support clinical development of its leading drug candidates. The 19-year-old firm raised $47 million in a public stock offering, $80 million from institutional investors, and $150 million by selling stock to the private equity firm Invus, its largest shareholder.

SK Capital, a New York City private equity firm, has raised $1 billion in capital for a new investment fund, SK Capital Partners IV. SK, which focuses primarily on chemicals, owns the nylon maker Ascend Performance Materials and the butadiene supplier TPC Group.

Modern Biosciences (MBS) and Janssen Biotech, a division of Johnson & Johnson, have entered a drug development agreement in which the partners will use MBS’s bone-protective compounds to develop therapies for rheumatoid arthritis. The partners will work at the J&J Innovation Centre in London. MBS will receive an undisclosed up-front payment.

Recipharm, a Swedish contract development and manufacturing organization, will acquire a manufacturing facility in Pessac, France, from drug delivery specialist Flamel Technologies for $13 million. Recipharm will invest another $13 million in Flamel stock upon closing the deal. Flamel will continue to have access to the development and manufacturing capabilities in Pessac.