Balchem Corporation (BCPC)

[metropick]

Balchem Corporation to Purchase the Marano Ticino Choline Chloride and Methylamines Business of Akzo Nobel

A follow up from my last post...
http://www.balchem.com/core/newsletter_details.asp?ArticleID=319
New Hampton, New York, April 2, 2007 - Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ: BCPC) today announced that its European subsidiary, Balchem, B.V. entered into an agreement under which it will acquire the choline chloride and methylamines businesses located in Marano Ticino, Italy from Akzo Nobel Chemicals S.p.A. Akzo Nobel is a global leader in the chemical industry, and its Marano Ticino operation employs approximately eighty people, manufacturing and distributing choline, methylamines and derivative products to customers around the world.

"This acquisition provides a production platform that will enable us to better serve the expanding worldwide human and animal choline chloride demand and it also adds a direct commercial European presence, which we now deem necessary. In addition to choline nutritional products, we gain access to production and technology for methylamines, metam sodium and other products for various industrial applications. This platform should provide many opportunities for Balchem to leverage its global growth plans,” said Dino A. Rossi, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Balchem.

In 2006, this Akzo operation realized approximately US $35 million in revenue. This revenue, when added to Balchem's 2006 result and its other acquisition in 2007, raises Balchem revenues on a pro forma basis for 2006 to approximately $175 million from $101 million.

Choline chloride is an essential nutrient for optimum animal growth, and is integral in building, regulating, and maintaining cell membrane integrity and porosity. It also acts as a lipotropic agent, which aids in the utilization and outward transport of fat in the liver. Choline chloride and its derivatives are also used in many other industrial applications. Methylamines are used as raw materials for the production of choline chloride and also widely used in many chemical and industrial applications.