Berkshire Hathaway completes $9.7bn Lubrizol acquisition

Ohio, US-based Lubrizol supplies a number of markets and sectors, including the pharmaceutical industry for which it makes bioadhesives, rheology modifiers, emulsifying agents and controlled-release excipients.

Lubrizol CEO James Hambrick said the acquisition provides “significant opportunities to continue creating customer value by providing complex and innovative chemistries, formulations and solutions for some of the most demanding performance applications in the world​.”

Analysts at Zacks Investment Research said that Lubrizol’s diverse portfolio and consistent growth – revenue has increase 9.8 per cent over the last decade – were key to the acquisition.

“Lubrizol is a specialty chemicals company, which sells more than 12,000 products in over 100 countries. Its products are used in a broad range of applications, with multiple end-uses such as engine oils, specialty driveline lubricants and metalworking fluids, as well as personal care and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products and performance coatings and inks​.”