Pentagon Chemicals sold to US-group Vertellus

Posted on 3 Nov 2014 by Tim Brown
In August, Pentagon Chemicals invested in an additional bulk solvent handling capability at its Halebank, Widnes site - image courtesy of Pentagon Chemicals.

UK chemical manufacturer, Pentagon Chemicals, has been acquired by US-group Vertellus for an unreported sum.

Pentagon Chemicals has been operating since 1939 on its Widnes-based site and since 1975 on its Workington site, producing fine chemicals and intermediates for the crop chemicals, oilfield, paper and pharmaceutical industries. With a turnover of £50m and 180 employees, Pentagon is one of the largest independent manufacturers of speciality chemicals in the UK.

Led by CEO Allan Laing, Pentagon Chemicals underwent a management buyout from Dow Chemicals in 2002, which was followed by the acquisition of the UK fine chemicals business from Great Lakes.

Alan Flynn, Pentagon’s Group Process Safety Advisor, received the Responsible Care award on behalf of Pentagon from Steve Elliott of the CIA and Dave Topliffe of Shell UK - image courtesy of Pentagon Chemicals.
Alan Flynn, Pentagon’s Group Process Safety Advisor, received the Responsible Care award on behalf of Pentagon from Steve Elliott of the CIA and Dave Topliffe of Shell UK – image courtesy of Pentagon Chemicals.
In June, Pentagon was presented with the Responsible Care Special Award (sponsored by Shell UK) for Excellence in Process Safety Leadership at the 2014 Chemical Industry Awards.

Vertellus Specialties is a US manufacturer of chemicals for the agriculture, coatings, medical, nutrition, personal care, pharmaceuticals and plastic industries. The Indiana-based business is backed by US private equity firm Wind Point Capital Partners, which acquired Vertellus in 2007.

According to Clearwater International, which advised the shareholders of Pentagon Chemicals on the sale of the company, the acquisition of Pentagon ‘will allow Vertellus to continue to expand its range of speciality chemicals and provide the company with the capability to enhance its UK plant, significantly increasing market share across Europe. This enables Vertellus to better serve its existing customer base on a global scale.’