BASEL, Switzerland – LSI recently announced that it has launched as an independent business, following the completion of the carve-out of Lonza Specialty Ingredients from Lonza Group. LSI is now held by Herens HoldCo Ltd., an entity controlled by private equity firms Bain Capital and Cinven, and Marc Doyle has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of LSI, effective immediately.

Commenting on the launch of LSI, Doyle said, “This carve out is a transformational opportunity for LSI, enabling it to accelerate its growth strategy within the microbial control and specialty chemicals markets with the strong, long-term support of our new owners. As we continue to build on the solid foundations created by Lonza Group, independence will allow LSI to be a more responsive and agile business, developing unique, innovative solutions to help customers protect their products from microbial spoilage, improve health and safety and reduce their environmental footprints. We are also firmly committed to building and investing in LSI’s sustainability strategy, enabling the business to respond and adapt to long-term environmental and social changes that are having a significant impact on the industry.”

LSI has a talented global team of 2,900 experts driven by the business’s core values of performance, collaboration, passion, and care. It is committed to long-term growth and is focused on strengthening the position of both the Microbial Control Solutions (MCS) and Specialty Products Solutions (SPS) businesses through strategic M&A opportunities and internal investment, particularly in innovation and its production assets.

An experienced industry executive, Doyle has spent more than 25 years at DuPont, including as Chief Executive Officer of DuPont de Nemours Inc., and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of DowDuPont. Alongside Doyle on the leadership team, Frank Stahl will continue to lead the MCS business and Antje Gerber the SPS business. Both Stahl and Gerber have more than 20 years of experience in the specialty chemicals industry, having held various leadership positions at large international companies.

The LSI board will comprise four directors from Bain Capital — David Danon, Youssef Salha, Michael Siefke and Stephen Thomas; four directors from Cinven — Anthony Cardona, Pontus Pettersson, Bruno Schick and Tom Thomasson; and Antonio Trius, appointed as an independent director. Trius was previously CEO of Cognis GmbH and has held board positions at several companies including Lonza Group Ltd.

The production facility in Visp, Switzerland, remains central to LSI’s operations, and LSI will continue to invest in the site to enhance its technical capabilities and expand its portfolio of high-quality specialty chemicals. LSI will share the Visp site with Lonza to continue its close collaboration with the provision and the receipt of various complementary services and products.

LSI intends to re-brand in the coming months to reflect its position as a new, independent business.