Business Roundup

Arlanxeo plans to build a plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, that will have capacity for 140,000 metric tons per year of neodymium-based butadiene rubber (NdBR) and lithium-based butadiene (LiBR) rubber. NdBR is used in tires, while LiBR is used for plastic modification.

Moodify has launched a fragrance reformulation tool based on artificial intelligence. The firm says its software is faster and cheaper than conventional, human-guided formulation methods for scents.

Lanxess has doubled capacity to make benzyl alcohol at its site in Kalama, Washington. The German firm acquired the site in 2021 as part of its $1.1 billion acquisition of Emerald Kalama.

Raven SR has won approval from the local government for the trash-to-hydrogen plant that it is developing in Richmond, California. The facility would consume 99 metric tons (t) of waste per day, yielding 6.5 t of H₂ and avoiding 20.0 t of landfill carbon dioxide emissions.

Stratasys and Desktop Metal, two giants of 3D printing equipment and services, are combining in an all-stock deal valued at $1.8 billion. Stratasys had sales of $651 million in 2022; Desktop Metal had $209 million.

eMolecules, which helps chemists find and procure research chemicals, has acquired Specs Compound Handling for an undisclosed sum. Specs stores and manages research chemicals at sites in the Netherlands and Maryland.

Pluton Biosciences has raised $16.5 million in a series A funding round led by Illumina Ventures and RA Capital. The firm’s flagship product is a supplemental soil microbe that fixes CO₂ and nitrogen.

Merck & Co. can proceed with its $10.8 billion acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences, as the US government’s waiting period for antitrust review expired May 22. The pharma giant is expected to close the deal late this quarter or early in the third quarter.