Arsenal buys Geo Specialty Chemicals

Private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners has acquired Geo Specialty Chemicals. Financial details were not released. Geo supplies materials for coatings, adhesives, water treatment, and contact lenses from 19 production sites in the US and Europe. Arsenal says the acquisition will expand its CPS Performance Materials specialty chemical platform. That unit includes Cyalume Technologies, a maker of chemiluminescent light sticks and pharmaceutical components Arsenal acquired in 2017, and FAR Chemicals, a maker of polymers and fine chemicals acquired in 2018. Geo says it holds a leading position in methacrylate chemistry and calls itself the largest US producer of glycine, an amino acid used in nutrition and personal care products. Geo was founded in 1993 by former Exxon Chemical executives George P. Ahearn and William P. Eckman. It grew by acquiring assets from large chemical firms, including aluminum sulfate businesses from Rhône-Poulenc and Cytec, and Henkel’s specialty paper chemicals business. Over the past few years, Geo has had a series of cash-flow problems and has battled competitors it accused of dumping glycine into the US market.