Germany: Evonik Industries has completed its acquisition of the specialty additives business, Performance Materials Division, of the US company Air Products for Euro3.5bn. All relevant competition authorities have approved the transaction and the integration of the acquired business is underway. The transaction financing was completed successfully in September 2016. It has been paid for by the company’s own funds to the amount of Euro1.6bn with the excess Euro1.9bn covered by bonds.

"The successful completion of the acquisition paves the way for swiftly merging the activities of Evonik and the acquired units of the Air Products Performance Materials business," said Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG. "It puts Evonik in an excellent position for further profitable growth in the attractive specialty additives market."

US: Honeywell has filed legal action against MEK Chemical for selling HFC-245fa in the US, an alleged violation of a Honeywell process patent. The liquid blowing agent used in the production of foam insulation, is manufactured by Honeywell under the brand name Enovate, according to ICIS.

Brazil/Finland: Saint-Gobain Isover has obtained Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for its products in Brazil and Finland. It has obtained five EPDs in Brazil where it has become the first insulation company in the country to obtain EPDs registered with Environdec. In Finland it has published three new verified EPDs through the Norwegian EPD platform EPD Norge.

Finland: Paroc Group has agreed to sell sale its Paroc Panel System (PPS) business to Kingspan Group. The personnel of PPS will all be transferred to the new owner. Along with the transaction, the parties have agreed on commercial cooperation in stone wool supply to the PPS factory in Parainen. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

"The arrangement supports the focus of Paroc on building and technical insulation. We will continue to seek market expansion and growth possibilities in those areas,” said Kari Lehtinen, chief executive officer of Paroc Group.

PPS is a subsidiary of Paroc Group Oy. In 2015, PPS sales totalled Euro47m, with about 100 employees in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany. Paroc Panel System panels are manufactured in Parainen, Finland.