Grace Acquires the Business of Rive Technology, Inc.

COLUMBIA, Md., June 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W. R. Grace & Co. GRA today completed the acquisition of the business  and assets of Rive Technology, Inc., including its Molecular Highway™ zeolite technology. As part of the transaction, certain research and development, technical services, and commercial employees will join Grace. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed and the transaction is not expected to change Grace's 2019 financial outlook provided on April 25, 2019.

"Over the past decade, we have seen terrific progress and benefits for our customers by incorporating Rive zeolite technology in certain FCC catalyst applications," said Tom Petti, Grace's President, Refining Technologies. "As demand for petrochemicals grows, the addition of Rive's patented technology allows us to offer our customers greater flexibility in converting crude oil to petrochemical feedstocks. That delivers real value to our global refinery customers." Rive's technology has broad applicability on different types of zeolites that will allow Grace to continue Rive's development activities in applications for a wide range of chemical catalysts and processes.

Rive Technology, Inc. was founded in 2006 to commercialize Molecular Highway™ zeolite technology for catalytic processes, such as those used in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units in oil refineries. Invented at MIT by Dr. Javier Garcia-Martinez, Rive's technology improves traditional zeolite catalysts through the introduction of novel channels of medium pore size ("molecular highways"), which enhance the diffusivity of these materials leading to higher value product yields, improved process efficiency, and increased refinery profitability.

In 2010, Rive and Grace entered a joint development and commercialization program to combine Rive's innovative technology with Grace's market-leading capabilities in FCC catalyst formulation and manufacturing. Rive and Grace are currently marketing and selling breakthrough FCC catalysts to many of the world's leading refiners.

"Rive's Molecular Highway™ technology is already employed in commercially successful products today," said Nathan Ergonul, Grace's Vice President, Marketing, Refining Technologies. "Thanks to our long-standing relationship with Rive, our customers already benefit from the technology, yet by bringing this innovation in-house, we can immediately deploy it to further expand our capabilities."

About Grace

Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and engineered materials. The company's two industry-leading business segments—Catalysts Technologies and Materials Technologies—provide innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes of our customers around the world. With approximately 3,900 employees, Grace operates and/or sells to customers in over 70 countries. More information about Grace is available at grace.com.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, that is, information related to future, not past, events. Such statements generally include the words "believes," "plans," "intends," "targets," "will," "expects," "suggests," "anticipates," "outlook," "continues," or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, expected financial positions; results of operations; cash flows; financing plans; business strategy; operating plans; capital and other expenditures; competitive positions; growth opportunities for existing products; benefits from new technology and cost reduction initiatives, plans and objectives; and markets for securities. For these statements, Grace claims the protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Like other businesses, Grace is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from its projections or that could cause other forward-looking statements to prove incorrect. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: risks related to foreign operations, especially in emerging regions; the costs and availability of raw materials, energy and transportation; the effectiveness of its research and development and growth investments; acquisitions and divestitures of assets and businesses; developments affecting Grace's outstanding indebtedness; developments affecting Grace's pension obligations; its legal and environmental proceedings; environmental compliance costs; the inability to establish or maintain certain business relationships; the inability to hire or retain key personnel; natural disasters such as storms and floods, and force majeure events; changes in tax laws and regulations; international trade disputes, tariffs, and sanctions; the potential effects of cyberattacks; and those additional factors set forth in Grace's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are readily available on the internet at www.sec.gov. Reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on Grace's projections and forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates those projections and statements are made. Grace undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revision to the projections and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this announcement.

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