Purolite is being sold to Ecolab for $3.7B

Sale of the Upper Merion company expected by year end

ST. PAUL, MINN. » Purolite, a global provider of high-end ion exchange resins based in Upper Merion, Montgomery County will be acquired by Ecolab Inc. in a transaction valued at $3.7 billion.

The Minneapolis, Minn.-based Ecolab Inc. announced Oct. 28 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Purolite, saying the company “is highly complementary to our current offering and critical to safe, high quality drug production and biopharma product purification in the life sciences industries.”

Purolite develops and manufactures resin beads used in the most regulated industries to separate, remove or recover very specific elements and compounds. The company operates in more than 30 countries and employs approximately 1,000 people worldwide.

“With this transaction, we will significantly increase our opportunities in our high growth, high margin life sciences business, such as the purification of mRNA vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for cancer-treatment drugs,” Christophe Beck, Ecolab’s president and chief executive officer said in a statement. “By combining Ecolab’s stateof-the-art capabilities in clean and safe processing with Purolite’s revolutionary resin technology, we will provide a comprehensive and gamechanging offering that will make the customer’s end-product better, safer, healthier and more effective.”

Beck added the company is “truly excited by the unique talent, scientific expertise and new capabilities Purolite brings us.”

Under the terms of the transaction, Ecolab will pay approximately $3.7 billion in cash, using approximately $800 million of cash on the company’s balance sheet and lowcost debt for the balance. As a result of the structure of the transaction, Ecolab said it expects to realize tax benefits with an estimated net present value of approximately $300 million.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory clearance and other customary closing conditions. Once the transaction is completed, Purolite will operate as a separate global business unit and its overall results will be reported within Ecolab’s Life Sciences division.

“Over the last 40 years, with the support and contribution of our loyal, highly skilled workforce, we have built our company into a dynamic force within the industries and for the clients we serve. We are truly grateful to our employees and management team for supporting our vision and entrepreneurial spirit,” Steve Brodie, Purolite’s chief executive officer said, in a statement. “My family and I are very confident that Ecolab can carry on these traditions. We are confident that Purolite will be in good hands and that our goals for high growth, innovation and quality will continue under Ecolab’s stewardship.”

Ecolab Inc. has annual sales of $12 billion and more than 44,000 associates.