Clariant, a world leader in Specialty Chemicals, has announced today that it signed an agreement with Ecolab Inc. to acquire certain of its deep water Gulf of Mexico assets. The divestment of the assets by Ecolab was a prerequisite by the U.S. Department of Justice for the approval of the acquisition of Champion Technologies. Financial details of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

Clariant is entering into a series of agreements with Champion related to its deep water Gulf of Mexico business. The acquired assets include Champion Technologies' oil and gas production chemicals services in the deep water Gulf of Mexico. The transaction is complementary to the company's strategy to further expand its deep water operations in the region and globally.

“This acquisition is synergistic with our decision to expand Clariant's deep water business and grow our Oil Services operations in North America, building upon our investment strategy in the U.S.” said John Dunne, Senior Vice President, Clariant Oil & Mining Services.