SK Capital buys and sells

SK Capital has made a series of transactions to fine-tune its portfolio of chemical businesses. The private equity firm has invested in VanDeMark Chemical in partnership with the company’s existing owner, Comvest Partners. VanDeMark, a specialist in phosgene chemistry, is based in Lockport, New York, and has a facility in Kazincbarcika, Hungary. SK aims to help the company expand in fine chemicals for the life sciences market. Separately, SK and another private equity firm, Edgewater Capital, have entered exclusive negotiations to buy Saint-Gobain’s Hiram, Ohio–based scintillation and photonic crystal business. The materials are used in radiation detection. In another transaction, SK has sold NuCera Solutions to Chase Corporation for $250 million. SK bought NuCera, the former specialty polymer business of Baker Hughes, in 2020. It makes low-molecular-weight polyolefins for candles, adhesives, and other applications. And SK has sold part of its stake in Techmer PM, a supplier of polymer masterbatches and other additives, to Gryphon Investors for an undisclosed sum. SK acquired a majority interest in Techmer in 2020.