News: Suppliers
2 October 2020
Mitsubishi Chemical America completes acquisition of MO supplier Gelest
Gelest Inc of Morrisville, PA, USA has completed the sale of Gelest Intermediate Holdings to New York-based Mitsubishi Chemical America Inc (MCA), the US subsidiary of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Chemical Corp (MCC). Gelest Intermediate Holdings is the parent company of Gelest Inc and Bimax Inc. The transaction, which was announced on 30 April, has cleared all regulatory approvals.
Founded in 1990 by Dr Barry Arkles and Kevin King, Gelest manufactures silicones, organosilanes, metal-organics (MOs) and specialty monomers for end markets including medical devices, life sciences, microelectronics and personal care. In March 2017, New York-based New Mountain Capital LLC (NMC) made a majority investment in Gelest and has worked with the founders and management to scale the company through organic initiatives and M&A.
“New Mountain Capital has been a terrific partner and helped us to significantly grow the company over the past three years,” says Gelest’s CEO Ken Gayer. “We now look forward to joining MCC, where their capabilities and breadth will allow Gelest to create even more value for customers and opportunities for employees,” he adds.
“Since partnering with Gelest in 2017, we have been extremely impressed by the management team and Gelest’s ability to innovate continuously to serve the evolving needs of its demanding customers,” comments Andre Moura, NMC’s managing director and lead director at Gelest. “We are proud to have supported Gelest’s execution of an organic and inorganic growth strategy,” he adds.
“Gelest fits well with MCC’s strategy,” reckons Mitsubishi Chemical America’s president Steve Yurich. “MCC’s operating resources and customer network will enhance the ability to bring Gelest’s cutting-edge technologies to market and accelerate the development of new customer solutions.”
Also, Gelest has promoted Dr Jonathan Goff to chief technology officer (CTO). He joined Gelest in 2009 and currently manages the Polymer Development, Technical Services, Silanes & Metal-Organic, Research Engineering and Quality Control groups. Goff received his Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science & Engineering from Virginia Tech, is cited as inventor on 12 patents, and has published over 40 technical articles. Arkles will continue serving both Gelest and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp in the role of senior executive fellow.
