Danimer will acquire polymer firm Novomer

Danimer Scientific, a maker of the biodegradable polymer polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), will buy Novomer in a $152 million transaction. Novomer makes poly(3-hydroxypropionate) from the raw materials carbon monoxide and ethylene oxide. The polymer, a PHA, could cost less to produce than other PHAs because it circumvents fermentation. Novomer operates a pilot plant in Rochester, New York, and has 20 employees. Danimer says it will likely modify its $700 million expansion project, installing fewer fermenters in Bainbridge, Georgia, than originally planned and expanding Novomer’s capacity. Novomer was founded in 2004 based on technology that originated in the lab of Cornell University chemistry professor Geoffrey W. Coates.