Global M&A activity is rising to pre-crisis levels

(ICIS) -- Global chemicals merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is rising to pre-crisis levels, with most of the deals driven by industry rather than finance, Tom Crotty, group director at Swiss-headquartered INEOS, said on Wednesday. ⌠M&A was a natural part of our lives until 2007, he told delegates at the Global Petrochemicals annual meeting, organised by the World Refining Association (WRA). ⌠It went away but it's back.

In the first four months of 2011, there were USD 50bn (EUR 35bn) of announced deals in the sector, the equivalent to the pre-crisis deal rate of 2007, Crotty said.

In addition, as producers emerge from the downturn, many are seeking to restructure their businesses to cut costs and prepare for the next set of unpredictable events, Crotty said.

While there have been some major deals announced by financial institutions, the largest of which is Berkshire Hathaway's USD 9.7bn bid for US lubricants and specialty chemicals company Lubrizol, most of the deals are being driven by industry.

Recently-announced, industry-driven deals include Solvay's USD 4.8bn agreement to buy Rhodia and Clariant's USD 2.7bn bid for Sud-Chemie.

MRC

(ICIS) -- China's n-butanol (NBA) prices have been falling for nearly a month, shedding 6.5%, because of weak demand, with sellers struggling not to incur losses, market sources said on Wednesday.

NBA prices were at yuan (CNY) 12.600/tonne (USD 1.935/tonne) EXW (ex-works) in east China at the close of business on 17 May, according to Chemease, an ICIS service in China.

Current prices are nearing sellers' cost, bolstering expectations that values will finally stabilise by end-May at around CNY11.500/tonne, market sources said.

Sellers and producers said they hope demand will start to pick up in June to buoy up prices and enable them to recover some margins.

Throughout May, however, demand will be dismal, with traders and downstream producers laden with high inventory, market sources said.

MRC

(Sabic) -- The Innovative Plastics strategic business unit of SABIC today announced at Chinaplas 2011 that it is adding new production lines of the company's world-renowned Lexan polycarbonate (PC) resins and films in Shanghai and Nansha, China. These additions are part of the company's strategy to support the dynamic growth of key plastics sectors in this region, particularly the consumer electronics, electrical, solar, security and automotive industries. Building on over 80 years of advanced technology breakthroughs, Innovative Plastics continues to be a leader in the plastics industry with its flagship PC material. It is continually developing distinctive new Lexan material solutions to meet evolving technological, environmental, performance and regulatory challenges.

The company's Lexan resin is produced to meet increasing capacity demand for key industries including consumer electronics, electrical, solar and automotive. Lexan specialty copolymers provide extreme high heat resistance; excellent flow/ductility; virtually unbreakable impact strength; scratch protection; flame-smoke-toxicity performance; and ultra violet (UV) protection to higher levels.

MRC

(Braskem) -- The green plastic produced by Braskem has recently received the highest certification for renewable products from Vincotte. The Belgium certification association is one of the world's main references in this type of evaluation.

Samples of the HDPE and LLDPE families were evaluated, with the entire Green PE line receiving four-star certifications, which is the highest quality rating conferred by Vincotte. Braskem's Green PE is now authorized to use the 'Ok Biobased' seal, an international identification granted by the certification association to products made from proven renewable sources.

For Braskem, the certification confirms the international recognition of the renewable content of Green PE, increasing its credibility in the market and value creation in the relationship with Clients.

Green plastic began to be produced on an industrial scale in September 2010, with the inauguration of the plant that produces its raw material - ethanol-based ethylene - in the city of Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul state. Green PE was developed by Braskem with the aim of being totally recyclable and reusable.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- SABIC and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corp) have announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on a polycarbonate production in China. This new agreement will add to SABIC's joint-venture with Sinopec, SSTPC (Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Company). A joint investment between both companies will fund a new polycarbonate production plant with an annual capacity for 260 KT.

Fully operational since 2010, Tianjin-based SSTPC (a 50:50 JV and established in October, 2009) produces various petrochemical products, including ethylene, polyethylene, ethylene glycol, polypropylene, butadiene, phenol and butene-1, among others.

The new polycarbonate production plant will be located in SSTPC and is expected to be operational by 2015. It will leverage SABIC's world-class advanced polycarbonate technology using phosgene and Dichloromethane free process. The performance properties of purity, transparency and continuous processing will bring local PC resin capabilities to a diverse customer base in China.

MRC