MOSCOW (MRC) -- Westlake Chemical Corporation announced it has closed the previously announced acquisition of German-based Vinnolit Holdings GmbH and its subsidiary companies from Advent International, a private equity firm, said The Wall Street Journal.
The Vinnolit acquisition includes six production facilities located in Burghausen, Gendorf, Cologne, Knapsack and Schkopau in Germany and Hillhouse in the United Kingdom. These operations have a combined annual capacity of 780 thousand metric tons of PVC, including specialty paste, thermoplastic specialties and suspension grades, 665 thousand metric tons of vinyl chloride monomer ("VCM") and 475 thousand metric tons of membrane grade caustic soda. Vinnolit has world class technical centers including a research and development facility in Gendorf and an applications laboratory in Burghausen.
The newly acquired business will operate as a Westlake company under the Vinnolit name and continue to provide products which are suitable for a wide range of industrial and building product applications including automotive sealants and interior trim, cable sheathing, flooring, medical applications, pipes, film, technical coatings, wall covering and window profiles.
Vinnolit's headquarters will remain in Ismaning, Germany, outside of Munich. The company employs approximately 1,400 employees.
Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC suspension and specialty resins and PVC building products including pipe and specialty components, windows, fence and decking.
As MRC informed earlier, last March, Westlake Chemical agreed to acquire the PVC pipe and fittings unit of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA's CertainTeed Corp. for USD175 million. CertainTeed's pipe and foundation group produces PVC pipe and fittings for municipalities, water wells, mining, agriculture and irrigation. The transaction was closed in the second quarter of 2013.
Vinnolit, a Westlake company, is one of the leading PVC producers in Europe, and, worldwide, is the market and technical leader in specialty PVC with headquarters in Ismaning, Germany.
MRC