Chemical Management
3E | January 16, 2024
Headquartered in Luxembourg, ChemChain’s proprietary IP and technology will bring an expanded, innovative approach to further augment 3E’s Supply Chain & Sustainability solution, 3E Exchange. 3E Exchange’s unified supply chain platform helps customers organize their global library of supply chain data and streamline workflows in a scalable and compliant manner. Specifically, 3E leverages its market leading digital product passport and renowned regulatory content capabilities to drive best-in-class supply chain management for its growing list of customers. Together, 3E and ChemChain are united in their mission to accelerate global supply chain transparency and sustainability with a unique combination of technology and regulatory expertise.
“ChemChain and 3E share a vision to create a safer, more sustainable world that protects people, safeguards products, and helps businesses grow,” said Greg Gartland, Chief Executive Officer of 3E. “Together with ChemChain, 3E offers an unmatched combination of global regulatory expertise and a cutting-edge platform that dramatically simplifies transferring information along the value chain in a transparent and secure manner. 3E improves cross-functional engagement across global enterprises, and future-proofs products against ever-changing regulations. We look forward to the continued expansion of our supply chain solutions and empowering our clients to further accelerate their sustainability efforts.”
With 175,000+ supplier relationships across all major geographies, the 3E Exchange platform drives a strong return-on-investment for its customers. Powered by 3E’s market leading regulatory expertise covering over 500,000 chemical substances, 3E Exchange enables superior supply chain management while also advancing companies’ ESG objectives. Continued momentum towards sustainable supply chains has highlighted that preparing for a circular economy should be a critical component of every company’s product strategy.
Pete Girard, Managing Director of Supply Chain and Sustainability at 3E, said “The acquisition of ChemChain illustrates our continued focus on supply chain product innovation and thought leadership. The ChemChain team has incubated a novel and tech-forward approach to drive digital product passport adoption, and we look forward to integrating these technologies into 3E Exchange.”
“The highly scalable digital product passport model offers a single source of truth that underpins sustainable supply chain management, while ensuring maximum protection of company trade secrets” added Lorenzo Zullo, Co-Founder and CEO of ChemChain. “As part of 3E, and leveraging tracked experience in end-to-end supply chain transparency across multiple industries, including textile & clothing, furniture, and detergents, ChemChain will accelerate innovation and position customers for success in the face of a highly complex and dynamic global regulatory landscape.”
ChemChain represents 3E’s fourth acquisition announcement since its separation from Verisk in March 2022.
Shearman & Sterling LLP served as the legal advisor to 3E. Cambrian and Elev8law served as the legal advisors to ChemChain.
About 3E
For more than 35 years the world’s leading companies have trusted 3E to provide the intelligent compliance solutions they need to ensure safety and sustainability. Unmatched Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHS&S) and product compliance expertise empowers clients to improve chemical and workplace safety, product safety and stewardship and supply chain transparency. 3E is deeply committed to serving its more than 5,000 customers worldwide, representing a wide variety of industries and including the world’s largest chemical manufacturers, retailers and pharmaceutical companies.
About ChemChain
ChemChain is a trusted, decentralized, and globally accepted infrastructure that enables customers to build, exchange, store, and track chemical-related information along the supply chain. ChemChain’s proprietary architecture, underpinned by blockchain technology, facilitates a scalable and tamper-proof digital product passport environment.
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Chemical Technology
Chemify | January 23, 2024
Chemify and Prepaire™ Labs announced to expand their partnership with an additional program to tackle the ongoing Opioid crisis and develop a novel class of digitally discovered non-addictive Opioids as pain modulators, as well as drugs tackling Opioid addiction directly by combining Chemify's breakthrough programmable chemistry platform with Prepaire’s integrated novel open collaboration drug discovery platform. The project, named Toxifree, comes in response to the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) requesting drugmakers and researchers to develop treatments for stimulant use disorder, hoping to address a major gap in the addiction crisis response.
After a successful initial partnership, Chemify and Prepaire are now aiming to leverage Chemify's Chemputation technology which enables the automated and integrated design, discovery, and synthesis of complex molecules on demand using a chemical programming language and Prepaire's advanced open-architecture drug development platform.
Under the terms of this partnership, Chemify will design and discover novel compounds to identify Opioid-derived hits and develop them further into candidates. Chemify will receive at least USD $30 million in payments and pre-negotiated, success-driven clinical and regulatory milestones for each developed molecule, as well as single digit royalties on any resulting products.
Lee Cronin, Chemify's Founder and CEO and Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow has extensive experience leading research efforts to develop solutions for the opioid crisis. Cronin lead a team that won several NIH-prize challenges including winning the grand runner up prize for the design, discovery and automated synthesis of next generation, safer and non-addictive drug-candidates to help address the opioid crisis.
"We are extremely excited to combine Chemify's technology for molecular design, discovery and synthesis with the integrated Prepaire platform to expand our collaboration and create a fully integrated, digitally driven drug discovery approach. With this partnership we are breaking ground on a new pain modulation discovery program that aims to tackle the global need for better and non-addictive pain medication. With our unique design approach guided by Chemputation, we are utilizing an evolutionary approach to discovering novel compounds to solve this devastating and critical healthcare need," said Professor Lee Cronin, Chemify's Founder and CEO.
"Our partnership with Chemify allows our discovery platform to integrate directly with Chemify's chemical space exploration approach, enabling us to access novel chemical matter that would have otherwise been inaccessible. As we progress our collaboration, we are aiming to build an integrated approach that can be used for many more indications beyond novel pain modulators. There aren't any approved treatments to help address addiction to opioids, whose use has surged in recent years. The purpose of this FDA guidance is to assist in the clinical trial designs for the development of novel drugs to support indications for treatment of moderate to severe cocaine use disorder, treatment of moderate to severe methamphetamine use disorder, or treatment of moderate to severe prescription stimulant use disorder," said Dr Vicent Ribas, Prepaire’s Co-Founder.
About Chemputation
Digital chemistry applies principles of computation to chemistry for programable chemistry and Chemify has developed the underpinning infrastructure to make this possible for chemical discovery and synthesis. Like a computer program, digital chemistry programs can automatically run chemical experiments, make new molecules, and ensure that complex chemical recipes are always accessible and perfectly reproducible. Chemical programs are precise pieces of code that allow fully transparent and reliable operation allowing the implementation of AI and other techniques with full audit and safety.
About Chemify
Based in Glasgow, Chemify is a pioneering company digitizing chemistry to provide world-leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and industrial partners access to an exponentially growing space of novel molecules and materials. By leveraging decades of chemistry experience, hardware robotics, and artificial intelligence, Chemify's Chemputation technology enables companies to access an end-to-end workflow for drug discovery, molecule synthesis, and materials discovery. Chemify was founded by CEO Lee Cronin based on conceptual advancements from Cronin's Digital Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. By building the infrastructure to digitize chemistry, Chemify is reimagining chemical research, discovery and manufacturing to benefit all of humanity by accelerating advances across chemistry with a focus on medicine and functional materials.
About Prepaire Labs
Prepaire Labs is a pioneering healthcare technology company focused on revolutionizing drug discovery and precision medicine. Through the integration of deep learning and biology, Prepaire Labs builds predictive models grounded in genetic, phenotypic, and clinical data. These models form a view to the underlying architecture and biology of diseases. Prepaire Labs utilizes patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), genome editing, high-content cellular phenotyping, and machine learning to create in vitro disease models that optimize genetics, cell-type, environment, and multidimensional data collection for increased predictability of human clinical outcomes. A state-of-the-art BSL3 lab is opening in May 2024, located at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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Chemical Management
Arcadium Lithium | January 08, 2024
Arcadium Lithium plc announced the completion of the all-stock merger of equals between Allkem and Livent. The new, combined company is a leading global lithium chemicals producer committed to safely and responsibly harnessing the power of lithium to improve people's lives and accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. With roughly U.S. $1.9 billion of combined total revenue in 2022 and a global team of more than 2,600 employees, Arcadium Lithium is one of the largest integrated producers of lithium chemicals in the world.
Paul Graves, Chief Executive Officer of Arcadium Lithium, said: "As one of the leading global producers of lithium chemicals, Arcadium Lithium has the resources, scale and expertise to meet the growing needs of our rapidly changing industry. We are a leader in every major lithium extraction process – from hard rock mining to conventional pond and DLE-based brine processing – and vertically integrated, from resource to chemical manufacturing, in strategic locations around the world. This will open doors to new opportunities and strengthen our ability to deliver value to our customers, investors, employees and communities."
Mr. Graves continued: "It is a privilege for me to lead this great company forward with such an incredible team. This transformational merger would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of our integration planning teams over the past months. I want to thank them and all of our employees around the world for getting us to this position. Together, we are launching an exciting new company that combines the strengths and storied legacies of two incredible organizations, both with an wavering commitment to safe, responsible and sustainable operations. We look forward to building on this strong foundation and leading our industry forward."
Arcadium Lithium ordinary shares will begin trading today on the NYSE under the ticker "ALTM." Arcadium Lithium also maintains a foreign exempt listing on the ASX (via the issue of CHESS Depositary Instruments (CDIs) to Allkem shareholders) and will commence trading on a normal settlement basis on the ASX under the ticker "LTM" at 10:00am (AEDT) on January 5, 2024. Allkem shareholders received either: (a) one Arcadium Lithium ASX listed CDI; or (b) one Arcadium Lithium NYSE listed share depending where they resided and what election (if any) they had made for each Allkem ordinary share held, except for shareholders in certain ineligible jurisdictions, who will receive cash proceeds from the sale of the Arcadium Lithium CDIs in lieu of such CDIs after closing. Livent shareholders received 2.406 Arcadium Lithium NYSE listed ordinary shares for each Livent share held.
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Chemical Management
APA Corporation | January 04, 2024
APA Corporation and Callon Petroleum Company have entered into a definitive agreement under which APA will acquire Callon in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $4.5 billion, inclusive of Callon’s net debt. Under the terms of the transaction, each share of Callon common stock will be exchanged for a fixed ratio of 1.0425 shares of APA common stock. The transaction is expected to be accretive to all key financial metrics and add to APA’s inventory of high quality, short-cycle opportunities. Callon’s assets provide additional scale to APA’s operations across the Permian Basin, most notably in the Delaware Basin, where Callon has nearly 120,000 acres. On a pro forma basis, total company production exceeds 500,000 BOE per day and enterprise value increases to more than $21 billion.
Key Highlights
Combination of Callon’s Delaware-focused footprint with APA’s Midland-focused footprint provides scale and balance in the Permian Basin;
APA’s oil-prone acreage in the Midland and Delaware Basin combined will increase by more than 50% following the transaction;
Expected to be accretive on key financial and value metrics;
Estimated overhead, operational and cost-of-capital synergies to exceed $150 million annually; and
Additional scale anticipated to improve credit profile; pro forma balance sheet will remain strong with leverage at 1.1x net debt / adjusted EBITDAX.
Management Commentary
“This transaction is aligned with APA’s overall portfolio strategy and fits all the criteria of our disciplined approach to evaluating external growth opportunities. Callon has built a strong portfolio in the Permian Basin that is complementary to our existing Permian assets and rounds out our opportunity set in the Delaware,” said John J. Christmann IV, APA’s CEO and president. “The acquisition is accretive and unlocks value for both shareholder bases, as increased scale will enable us to realize significant overhead and cost-of-capital synergies. The pro forma footprint in the Permian will also create opportunities to capture meaningful operating synergies.”
“We are very proud of the significant steps we have taken to enhance Callon’s asset base, operational performance and balance sheet over the past several years,” said Joe Gatto, Callon’s president and CEO. “This combination with APA now provides for an enhanced value proposition for our shareholders built on their depth of experience and strong execution in the Permian Basin, flexibility for increased capital allocation, and ongoing delineation and optimization efforts. Importantly, I would like to personally thank each and every Callon employee for their role in building this company. I am very proud of this team and what we have achieved together.”
Combined Permian Asset Position and Preliminary 2024 Planned Activity
Pro forma average daily Permian Basin production was 311 Mboe/d in 3Q 2023, which represents a 48% increase from APA’s Permian Basin production on a standalone basis. APA's oil production as a percentage of BOE’s in the Permian increases from approximately 37% to 43% in 3Q 2023, on a pro forma basis.
APA will provide additional activity plans and details post closing.
Pro Forma APA Positioning
“APA has a proven ability to deliver strong results from its unconventional assets in the Permian Basin, and we look forward to building on the progress that the team at Callon has made within its asset base. This transaction is aligned with our strategy of maintaining and growing a diversified portfolio, underpinned by large-scale core areas of operation while continuing to build a portfolio of medium and longer-term exploration-driven development opportunities,” Christmann said.
Following the closing, the company’s worldwide pro forma production mix will be approximately 64% U.S. / 36% international.
APA’s global portfolio includes ongoing development on large-scale legacy assets in the U.S. and Egypt. The company is also advancing a FEED process for a large-scale FPSO development offshore Suriname. In addition to current production and development activities across the globe, APA maintains a differentiated exploration portfolio, which includes newly acquired large-scale blocks offshore Uruguay and onshore state-land leases in Alaska.
About APA
APA Corporation owns consolidated subsidiaries that explore for and produce oil and natural gas in the United States, Egypt and the United Kingdom and that explore for oil and natural gas offshore Suriname. APA posts announcements, operational updates, investor information and press releases on its website, www.apacorp.com. Additional details regarding Suriname, ESG performance and other investor-related topics are posted at investor.
About Callon Petroleum
Callon Petroleum Company is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition, exploration and sustainable development of high-quality assets in the Permian Basin in West Texas.
Pro forma enterprise value is derived from the addition of each company’s market capitalization based on closing stock prices on 1/3/24, plus the net debt of each company as of 9/30/23.
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