EU Commission approved formation of Styrolution

(BASF) -- The EU Commission has today given its approval for the formation of the joint venture Styrolution. BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, and INEOS Industries Holdings Limited, Lyndhurst, UK, now have EU clearance to combine in Styrolution their global business activities in styrene monomers (SM), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), styrene-butadiene block copolymers (SBC) and other styrene-based copolymers (SAN, AMSAN, ASA, MABS) as well as copolymer blends. Pro forma sales of the combined businesses were EUR 6.4 billion in 2010. Expandable polystyrene is not part of this transaction. BASF and INEOS will retain their respective businesses.

With Styrolution, BASF and INEOS will establish the leading company in the global styrenics market. Styrolution has an excellent global position with production sites in Europe, Asia and North America.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Saudi Arabia's National Petrochemicals Company (Petrochem) and Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) have decided to delay merger study of their assets until the start and the stabilisation of the project of the Saudi Polymers Company, the two companies said in a statement published on Saudi stock exchange ⌠Tadawul.

The two companies said that the Saudi Polymers project is slated for production in the fourth quarter 2011. ⌠Upon the completion of the project, we will be able to take the best expectation including the costs, sales and the profitability of the project, said Petrochem, the owner of the Polymers project. ⌠This will allow us to set a fair value of the company's shares before the merger, it added.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- The Yunlin County Government has ordered Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC), the group's flagship company, to shut down a 12 hectare vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant, and asked another group member, Nan Ya Plastics Corp to close its 50 hectare Haifeng factory compound over safety concerns.

Closure of these six plants- one run by Formosa Plastics and five by Nan Ya Plastics, will result in daily losses of USD 1.2 mln. Formosa Petrochemical Corp's (FPCC) Number 1 petrochemical and olefins plant at the complex remains shut because of disruptions to raw material pipelines.

MRC

(ICIS) -- US-based Ashland plans to pay down debt while continuing to change into a high-margin, high-growth specialty chemicals company following its planned acquisition of US-based International Specialty Products (ISP), Ashland's chief executive said on Tuesday.

⌠This has been a transformational story for Ashland. [The Hercules acquisition] was our first choice to upgrade our position in specialty chemicals, and ISP will define us. But the story is not fully written, said chairman and CEO James O'Brien in an interview with ICIS.

Ashland has agreed to buy ISP for USD 3.2bn (EUR 2.2bn) in cash, representing a multiple of 8.9 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of USD 360m for the 12 months ended March 31.

The deal will expand Ashland's positions in the personal care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage and oilfield chemicals markets.

After the close of the deal, expected before the end of September, about 74% of Ashland's EBITDA will be from specialty chemicals businesses, O'Brien said.

MRC

(ICIS) -- China's manufacturing sector grew at a slower pace in May, with the purchasing managers' index (PMI) at its its lowest level in nine months at 52%, official data showed on Wednesday. PMI, a barometer of the monthly performance of China's factories, slipped 0.9 percentage point from 52.9% in April, according to China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP).

Except for a slight rebound in March, the PMI has been falling continuously since September 2010, when China turned more aggressive in its monetary tightening policy in response to spikes in inflation.

In the oil and petrochemical industry, producers opted to destock cargoes in April and May instead of building more inventory, discouraged by declines in commodity prices, said Wu of Changjiang Securities.

Inflation is expected to remain high at 5.4-5.5% in May, with price pressures on food being aggravated by drought affecting a huge swathe of farmlands in China, he said.

MRC