International Specialty Products' sale of alginates business to FMC approved by competition law authorities

Client(s) International Specialty Products, Inc.

Jones Day advised International Specialty Products Inc. (ISP) on the antitrust aspects of the sale of its alginates business to FMC Corporation. ISP is a worldwide supplier of specialty chemicals and performance-enhancing products for a variety of personal care, pharmaceutical, food, beverage, and industrial applications. FMC is a global diversified chemicals company, with interests in agricultural, industrial and consumer markets. Both are producers of alginates, a natural product derived from seaweed principally used for their moisture-absorption qualities to promote thickening, gelling, texture stabilization and film formation in food, industrial, specialty, and pharmaceutical applications. The transaction was investigated thoroughly in the United Kingdom and Germany, which ultimately elected to use their "de minimis" exceptions. The transaction was not referred to the Competition Commission in the UK and was not subject to a second-phase investigation in Germany. Clearance also was secured from merger control authorities in Brazil and Turkey. An HSR filing was not required in the U.S.