Reichhold, Polynt to merge

The chemical firms Reichhold and Polynt have agreed to combine into a maker of monomers and polymers for the composites and coatings industries with more than $2.4 billion in annual sales. The new company will be equally owned by Black Diamond Capital Management, Reichhold’s main owner, and Investindustrial, Polynt’s owner. Reichhold calls itself one of the world’s largest producers of unsaturated polyester resins and a leading supplier of coating resins. The company declared bankruptcy in October 2014 and was acquired by Black Diamond and other investors the following April. Polynt, a maker of anhydrides and unsaturated polyester resins, was once owned by Lonza. Since becoming independent in 2008, it has acquired composites and coating resins businesses from several chemical makers. Reichhold CEO John S. Gaither says the combined firm will have increased scale and product diversity.