Bayer MaterialScience LLC recently announced it has agreed to sell its global powder polyester resins business and its U.S.-based liquid polyester resins merchant business to Stepan Co. The sale is scheduled to be completed by June 1. Both Bayer businesses are located in Columbus, Ga. The 45 Bayer employees who work at the Columbus facility will reportedly be offered the opportunity to become Stepan employees.

“The divestiture allows us to focus on our core competencies,” said Daniel Meyer, head of the Coatings, Adhesives and Specialties business unit at Bayer MaterialScience AG. “We believe we have found the right home for our North American polyester resins business and look forward to watching it develop further under new ownership.”

Bayer will retain its trade name Desmophen^®to continue to sell its diverse portfolio of products to the coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers industries around the world, including liquid polyester resins in markets outside the U.S.

“This acquisition will significantly expand Stepan’s polyol product offering,” said F. Quinn Stepan, Jr., president and CEO, Stepan Co. “Stepan is a leading producer of polyester polyol used in rigid insulation foam. This acquisition will diversify our polyol offering and accelerate our efforts to grow in CASE [coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers] and PUSH [Polyurethane Systems House] applications. We intend to make future capital expenditures to expand the capabilities at Columbus.”

For additional information, visit www.bmsnafta.com or www.stepan.com.