NEWS FROM CPhI - Mallinckrodt Baker becomes Avantor
New owner wants chemicals firm to double in size
Mallinckrodt Baker will now be known as Avantor Performance Materials following its recent acquisition by an affiliate of New York private equity firm New Mountain Capital.
Avantor will continue to manufacture high-performance chemistries and materials around the world under the J T Baker and Mallinckrodt Chemicals brands. These products are used in biotechnology and pharmaceutical production; microelectronics and photovoltaic manufacturing; and in research, academic and quality control laboratories. Each of these three main areas represents around 30% of turnover.
‘Our new name conveys several very important ideals,’ said Raj Gupta, executive chairman at Avantor and senior advisor at New Mountain Capital.
‘We chose Avantor because of its relevance to leadership. The word ‘avant’, as in avant-garde, evokes the bold ideas, energy, innovation and passion that we have as a company. ‘Tor’, meaning mountain, represents our aspiration to achieve new heights of performance and quality.’
Headquartered in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, US, Avantor was acquired from Covidien in August 2010. New Mountain Capital is providing Avantor with financial resources to support future growth.
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, the Mallinckrodt name will remain with Covidien. Products sold under the Mallinckrodt product line brand name will continue to be manufactured and marketed by Avantor, but will be transitioned to a new brand name, to be announced next month.
‘We will not jettison any products,’ said Herman Mitchell, global marketing director, at CPhI.
‘We will ascend new heights. New Mountain Capital wants the company to more than double in size over the next few years through organic growth and acquisition.’