Cinven in exclusive talks to buy French chemicals group Chryso from LBO France

European private equity firm Cinven is in exclusive talks to buy French chemicals group Chryso, from LBO France, the companies said in a statement.

Cinven which has also recently bid for German drugmaker Stada, said that the proposed acquisition would follow its 2015 purchase of France-based Labco, one of the largest European operators of medical diagnostics laboratories, which it subsequently merged with Germany's Synlab, to create the largest clinical laboratory services company in Europe.

Chryso is a leading international producer of additives and admixtures, which improve the performance of concrete and cement, and construction systems for the repair and maintenance of buildings.

The company operates across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the US, with sales in more than 100 countries worldwide.

It has 29 manufacturing facilities globally and four R&D centres, and employs 1,130 people.

Cinven said that it has identified Chryso as an attractive investment opportunity based on the company's strong market position in an attractive market segment across both developed and emerging geographies and the strong growth in infrastructure spending, increasing housing demands in emerging economies, and a housing market recovery in Europe and the US.

Commenting on the proposed Chryso investment, Xavier Geismar, partner at Cinven, said, ''We had identified CHRYSO as a strong business operating in the highly attractive building chemistry industry and have been following the company closely. Cinven is delighted to have this opportunity to invest in the business, backing the excellent management team.''

Thierry Bernard, president and CEO of Chryso Group, said, ''Chryso is extremely well positioned to benefit from several attractive market drivers including increasing concrete consumption for infrastructure and housing globally; the greater complexity and scale of construction projects – with tougher requirements on building materials performance; and a growing focus on sustainable development.''