The Dutch firm announced plans to sell the unit in 2007 when it decided to restructure its portfolio to focus on life sciences and materials sciences divisions and divest non-core businesses.
And while DSM managed a number of divestitures in the intervening period – selling its fertilizers and melamine businesses to Oraqscom and its special products and IP assets to Sun Capital in 2010 – it could not find a buyer for the maleic anhydride derivatives unit.
Or at least potential buyers it did find did not make attractive enough bids according to spokesman Herman Betten, who told Outsourcing-pharma.com that: “At the prices that were offered, we did not want to sell this business.”
Betten also said that: “Business conditions have improved” for maleic anhydride derivatives but did not provide additional details.