Germany's Schütz signed an agreement to acquire Mexican rigid industrial packaging company Envases y Laminados (ELSA) for an undisclosed sum, with completion expected in early 2018.

Knauf acquired a 50% stake in Corporation Volma LLC (Russia), which is a major shareholder of Belgips, a Belarusian gypsum plasterboard manufacturer. The transaction will also fund a new manufacturing facility for Belgips.

Jidong Cement announced a revised restructuring plan to form a joint venture with BBMG Group, where Jidong Cement will contribute 20 cement companies and 2 branch assets, and BBMG will contribute 10 cement companies. The joint venture will be controlled by Jidong Cement, making it the sole cement platform under BBMG.

Cementos Molins has reduced the purchase price for LafargeHolcim Bangladesh to US$62 million, down from the originally announced US$117 million in December 2016, for 100% of the company which owns three cement grinding units in Bangladesh.

FAWER Automotive Parts Ltd Co plans to set up an auto system joint venture with a South Korean auto parts firm, with a registered capital of 155 million yuan ($23.73 million).

Sage International Group Limited signed a memorandum of understanding on December 28, 2017, to acquire 60% of the issued share capital of Shenzhen Deweis Electronics Co., Ltd., which supplies, manufactures and exports electronic equipment in China. A refundable deposit of 20 million yuan will be paid.

Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco) board approved on December 28, 2017, two acquisitions: Zhongal Shandong Co. to acquire 100% of Zhongal Qingdao Light Metal Co., and Shanxi New Materials Co. to acquire part of the assets of Zhongal Shanxi Aluminum Co.

Itafos and GB Minerals Ltd. entered into a definitive arrangement agreement for Itafos to acquire all outstanding common shares of GB Minerals, which owns the Farim phosphate project in Guinea-Bissau. Shareholders can elect to receive Itafos shares or a combination of cash and shares.

Winsupply, based in Dayton, Ohio, purchased Tacoma Electric Supply, a Washington-based distributor of electrical equipment and supplies with locations in Tacoma and Puyallup. Terms were not disclosed.

Scapa Group plc acquired 100% of First Water Limited, a designer-manufacturer of advanced wound dressings and skin adhesives based in Ramsbury, UK. The purchase price is up to £15.3 million, including an initial cash consideration of £11.3 million.

China Aluminum Co. (Chalco) announced that its subsidiary Zhonglu Shandong plans to acquire 100% of Qingdao Light Metals from parent company Chinalco for CNY 300 million. Qingdao Light Metals produces aluminum and magnesium products.

Ravago Americas LLC acquired Polymer Technology and Services LLC, a distributor of commodity, engineering and specialty polymers, to join its Amco Polymers business. Terms were not disclosed.

Jennmar and its affiliate Jennchem purchased Heintzmann Corp USA.

MEK Group, a Spanish industrial group, has acquired Tornillería LEMA, a leader in machining for the automotive sector. The acquisition consolidates MEK Group's business offering and strengthens its international expansion.

Union Partners LLC purchased Heidtman Steel's Automotive Steel Technical Center in Gibraltar, Michigan, a 9,500 square foot facility built in 2005, to support testing and research of advanced high-strength steels.

Actis has agreed to buy InterGen's business interests in Mexico for US$1.26bn, including 2.2GW of operating power generation capacity and a 65km natural gas pipeline. The sale is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in Q2 2018.

Lafarge Surma Cement's board approved the acquisition of 100% shares of Holcim Cement Bangladesh from LafargeHolcim Group, creating a combined production capacity of 4.2 million tonnes.

Wolong Electric Group Co., Ltd. agreed to acquire the small industrial motors business of General Electric Company for approximately $140 million. The transaction includes several GE entities and is subject to regulatory approval.

Rantotek Oy and KPA Unicon Oy agreed on an asset deal on 22 December 2017, transferring KPA Unicon's Pirkkala project design work to Rantotek. Six employees transferred to Rantotek on 1 January 2018.

JBT Corporation acquired the marinating and curing division of Schröder Food Processing, a subsidiary of Weber Maschinenbau, to expand its food processing technology portfolio.

AC&A Enterprises Holdings, a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners, acquired EnCore Composite Structures, a designer and manufacturer of composite parts for aerospace programs. Terms were not disclosed.

Centinel Spine, LLC acquired the worldwide assets of the prodisc Total Disc Replacement portfolio from DePuy Synthes Products, Inc. The portfolio includes prodisc C, prodisc L, prodisc VIVO, prodisc NOVA, prodisc O and DISCOVER Cervical. The acquisition complements Centinel Spine's existing spinal implant portfolio.

Faurecia entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Swiss company Hug Engineering, a market leader in exhaust gas purification systems for high horsepower engines, from ElringKlinger. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2018.

Boels Rental, a European equipment rental company, acquired Abird, an industrial equipment provider in the Benelux and Germany, from private equity investor NPM. The acquisition strengthens Boels' position in the industrial sector.

Schütz GmbH & Co. signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Envases y Laminados, S.A. de C.V. (ELSA), Mexico's leading supplier of rigid industrial packaging. The deal is expected to close in early 2018, subject to antitrust approval. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Etex, a Belgian industrial group, has acquired the outstanding 59.31% of shares of Pladur Gypsum for €90.4m, gaining full control of the Spanish plasterboard manufacturer.

Chinese textile manufacturer Shandong Ruyi will acquire INVISTA's Apparel & Advanced Textiles business, which includes the global LYCRA brand, in a stock transaction expected to close by mid-2018.

German packaging machines manufacturer A+F Automation + Fördertechnik has been acquired by CGS, an independent investment adviser, from Mutares.

Bunzl has completed the acquisition of Lightning Packaging, an industrial packaging products supplier based in the UK. Financial details were not disclosed.

Saab acquired Applied Composites AB (ACAB) from GKN Aerospace. The acquisition was signed on December 22, 2017, and will become effective on December 29, 2017. ACAB has about 55 employees and annual turnover of around 105 MSEK.

Vulcan Materials reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, clearing the path for its acquisition of Aggregates USA. The announcement was made on December 22, 2017.

Atlas Copco has agreed to divest its concrete and compaction business to Husqvarna Group's Construction division. The business had revenues of approximately EUR 57 million in 2016 and about 200 employees will transfer. The transaction includes a production facility in Ruse, Bulgaria, and assets in Nashik, India.

JR Automation, a provider of intelligent automated manufacturing technology solutions, has acquired Doerfer Corporation's automation systems group, which includes Advanced Automation, Wright Industries, and other entities. The acquisition expands JR Automation's footprint into Europe and Asia.

EDF signed binding agreements to buy 75.5% of New NP, a subsidiary combining AREVA's reactor design and manufacturing activities, at an adjusted valuation of EUR 2.47 billion for 100%, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Assystem taking 19.5% and 5% stakes.

Mondi Group signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Powerflute Group Holdings from NPAC Holdings for €365 million on an enterprise value basis. The Kuopio, Finland mill makes 285,000 tons a year of semi-chemical fluting and completion is expected in the first half of 2018.

GCP Applied Technologies Inc. completed the acquisition of the quality control assets and related intellectual property of Contek Shilstone Inc., a Montreal-based provider of quality control software for the ready-mix concrete industry. Terms were not disclosed.

Lanxess, together with private equity firm Apollo, is bidding for parts of Akzo Nobel's specialty chemicals division, valued at EUR 8-12 billion. Other consortia are also bidding.

Marlowe plc has acquired Guardian Water Treatment Limited for up to £2.8 million on a cash and debt-free basis. The deal includes an upfront payment of £2.4 million and a capped earn-out of £0.85 million.

The Würth Group is taking over Liqui Moly GmbH, purchasing all shares from managing partner Ernst Prost, effective 1 January 2018. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

Groupe Solmax, a maker of geomembranes, is buying its largest competitor GSE Environmental.

Lotte Advanced Materials signed a deal to acquire full stakes in PT Arbe Styrindo and PT ABS Industri Indonesia, which produce ABS polymers and compound. The acquisition value was not disclosed. Lotte plans to ramp up production capacity to 73,000 tons per year and restart commercial production in 2019.

Balfour Beatty sold a 12.5% stake in M25 operator Connect Plus to private equity firm Dalmore Capital for £103m. The deal is expected to generate a £53m profit for Balfour Beatty.

AxFlow Holding, the fluid handling business group of Axel Johnson International, acquired Bahr Pump in Estonia, Pumptechnique in Latvia and Flow Technologies in Lithuania, closing on December 20, 2017. The deal gives AxFlow its first Baltic market presence.

Crown Bioscience announced it will merge with and become a wholly owned subsidiary of JSR Corporation, integrating drug discovery and diagnostic solutions.

FLSmidth's acquisition of the Sandvik Mining Systems projects business has concluded except for the transfer of assets in South Africa, which is awaiting merger control clearance. The acquisition includes continuous surface mining and minerals handling technologies.

Solmax Group acquired GSE Environmental, a US competitor based in Houston, Texas. The acquisition was supported by investments from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ.

Umicore has reached an agreement to acquire Materia's metathesis catalyst IP and business portfolio for USD 27 million. Materia is a US-based producer of metathesis catalysts and thermoset resins.

Transpaco will acquire Future Packaging and Machinery (FPM) for up to R105 million. FPM supplies industrial and general packaging products through distribution centers in South Africa.

Altran has acquired US design and engineering services company Aricent in a $2 billion deal from a group of investors led by KKR, creating the largest specialized R&D and engineering group globally.

Sika has acquired Emseal Joint Systems, Ltd., a US-based market leader in structural expansion joint products. Emseal generates annual sales of CHF 40 million.