Cabot acquires Sanshun nanometer new material to enhance the position of battery formula

On January 7, Boston-Carbot Corporation (NYSE Code: CBT) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cabot (China) Investment Co., Ltd., had reached an agreement to acquire Shenzhen Sanshun Nano New Material Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in China, at a price of 115 million dollars (including all payment obligations and contingent payments). This acquisition has greatly enhanced Cabot’s position and formulation capability in the rapidly growing battery market, especially in China, the world’s largest and fastest growing electric vehicle market.
As the world’s second largest carbon nanotube manufacturer, Sanshun has the ability to manufacture dry carbon nanotubes and slurry, and has a recognized successful business record in the lithium battery market. The addition of carbon nanotube business has strengthened Cabot’s conductive carbon product series, including the current VULCAN XC series carbon black and PBX for advanced lead-acid batteries ® High-performance carbon additive for LITX of lithium-ion battery ® Conductive additives and the recently announced ATHLOS ™ Carbon nanostructures. Through this acquisition, Cabot will become the only carbon additive supplier with commercially successful carbon black, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanostructures and dispersion technology.
“Sanshun is fully in line with our growth strategy in the formula field and provides a new technology platform for our energy and materials business,” Zhu Ji, senior vice president of Cabot, president of high-performance materials business and president of Asia-Pacific region, told OFweek New Materials. “Combining Sanshun’s leading carbon nanotube and dispersion capabilities with our high-performance carbon additive technology and battery expertise will create new opportunities to expand our position in the fast-growing energy storage market. This acquisition will not only consolidate our global leadership in high-performance carbon additives, but also enable us to provide new innovative solutions to improve battery performance with the best cost-performance ratio.”
Battery manufacturers are increasingly using composite conductive agent (CCA) dispersion to improve performance and reduce material costs, and carbon nanotubes are the fastest growing conductive carbon additive in energy storage.
“This acquisition provides Cabot with a unique opportunity to create world-class formula solutions and provide customers with more comprehensive products to meet their needs,” Jim Makuc, vice president of Cabot and general manager of energy materials business, told OFweek New Materials.
The revenue of Sanshun in the past 12 months is US $28 million, while the combined business of Cabot’s Energy and Materials Business Department and Sanshun will generate about US $50 million. The revenue generated by the continuous growth of electric vehicles and other lithium battery storage applications is expected to grow by 20-25% in the next five years, which makes it an important part of Cabot’s special chemicals business portfolio.
Sanshun opened a new carbon nanotube factory in China in November 2018, which has enough capacity to support the growth in the next few years. The company will be managed as part of Cabot’s global energy materials business in Cabot’s high-performance chemicals division. Both parties are expected to complete the transaction before the end of March 2020.
About Cabot
Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is a leading specialty chemicals and high-performance materials company in the world, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. We are a leading supplier of rubber and special carbon black, activated carbon, ink-jet color paste, color masterbatch and conductive mixed ingredients, fumed silica and aerogel products.
About Sanshun Company
Shenzhen Sanshun Nano New Material Co., Ltd., founded in 2011 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is a leading manufacturer of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and dispersions, providing products for lithium battery manufacturers in China and overseas. Sanshun has a wide product portfolio, including single-wall CNT, multi-wall CNT and various types of mixtures, to meet the growing demand of the battery industry.