ChemQuest Chemicals

Edgewater Capital Partners, LLC (“Edgewater”) and Clayton (‘Clay’) Pace, an experienced chemical industry executive, acquired a majority interest in ChemQuest Chemicals, LLC, with Mr. Pace becoming the new CEO of ChemQuest. Grace Matthews advised Edgewater and Mr. Pace on this transaction. Lewis Talbert, the previous owner of ChemQuest, will retain a minority stake in the business and support Mr. Pace. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Based near Houston in Pasadena, Texas, ChemQuest is a custom blender and value-added supply chain partner for chemical companies serving a broad range of industries, including oilfield, agricultural, water treatment, petrochemicals, and other industrial applications. The company has an excellent reputation as a value?added distributor offering mixing and blending, repackaging, filling, labeling, palletizing, private labeling and inventory management to a large base of companies throughout the Gulf Region and beyond.

Edgewater and Mr. Pace recognized ChemQuest as a strong business platform that would benefit from capital investment as well as additional senior management that could broaden ChemQuest’s reach in new markets and regions. Mr. Pace, an experienced CEO with more than 30 years of chemical industry experience, was an excellent candidate to become the next CEO of ChemQuest. ChemQuest has a solid customer base, an excellent reputation in the marketplace, and an experienced team.

“This is a great platform for growth,” said Mr. Pace.

“Lewis has done a great job of positioning the business for the next stage of growth since he acquired it three years ago, and we believe that the industry connections and the management skills that Clay brings add tremendous value to the company,” commented Christopher Childres, Managing Partner of Edgewater. “As a private equity group with 16 years experience investing in the chemicals industry, we believe that, with our combined leadership and expertise, ChemQuest has great potential going forward.”

Kevin Yttre, Managing Director at Grace Matthews, added: “This is a great outcome for everybody involved. Lewis is pleased that the company has the additional resources it needs to grow, Clay has the excitement and challenge of a new opportunity, and Edgewater likes the winning combination of strong management and a growth platform that it now has with ChemQuest. We can’t wait to see what the company will accomplish over the next few years.”