Synthomer plc announced that the conditions attached to the European Commission's clearance decision issued on January 15, 2020 have been satisfied and no other regulatory approvals are outstanding for the completion of the acquisition of OMNOVA Solutions Inc. The acquisition is expected to complete by April 1, 2020. This follows receipt of approval for the agreed sale of its PYRATEX™ VP Latex business to Trinseo. Completion of the divestment to Trinseo, which represents less than 0.5% of Synthomer 2019 sales, is subject to approval from competition authorities but this does not impact the completion of the OMNOVA transaction.

The transaction creates a global speciality chemicals company with significant scale and a robust platform from which to invest in future growth. Synthomer becomes a major world-wide player in water-based polymer solutions with greater customer reach and strong operational capabilities and will be in an excellent position to invest in growth, innovation, and people. The acquisition materially strengthens Synthomer's presence in North America, as well as increases its presence in Europe and Asia, including further penetration into the high growth Chinese market.

Synthomer intends to utilise best practices from across the enlarged Group to improve productivity and reduce costs. Since announcing the transaction in July 2019, Synthomer has done as much as possible before completion with strong cooperation between respective teams meaning that it is ready to move forwards on integration whilst mindful of the current environment. As previously announced, and confirmed, the acquisition is expected to result in estimated recurring pre-tax cost synergies of USD 29.6 million per annum following completion.