Honeywell to spin off Its Resins and Chemicals Business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell International Inc. said that it would spin off its USD1.3 billion resins and chemicals business into a stand-alone, publicly traded company, said The Wall Street Journal.

The deal is expected to be completed by early 2017 and is subject to certain conditions and the assurance that the spinoff will be tax-free to Honeywell shareowners. The spun-off company will be called AdvanSix and its Chief Executive will be Erin Kane, who is currently the general manager of the resins and chemicals unit.

Honeywell said there is currently no impact to its financial guidance.

The resins and chemicals business makes Nylon 6, a polymer resin used to produce engineered plastics, fibers, filaments and films. Those products are used to produce automotive and electronic components, carpets, sports apparel, fishing nets, and packaging. The segment also produces ammonium-sulfate fertilizers and chemical intermediates, such as phenol and acetone. It is also the largest single-site producer of caprolactam, which is used to make Nylon 6.

The move to spin off some assets comes two months after the New Jersey-based company withdrew a $90 billion bid to beef up by buying fellow industrial giant United Technologies Corp. It backed down from the massive tie up after facing opposition from the target, antitrust regulators and major customers.

Last month. Honeywell said its board authorized the repurchase of as much as USD5 billion of the industrial conglomerate’s shares as part of its strategy to deploy cash.

As MRC informed earlier, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) will use a suite of Honeywell UOP technologies to modernize its oil refinery in Baku, Azerbaijan, to produce high-quality gasoline that meets stricter emission standards.

Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT) is a global leader in developing advanced materials, process technologies and automation solutions. PMT's Advanced Materials businesses manufacture a wide variety of high-performance products, including environmentally friendlier refrigerants and materials used to manufacture end products such as bullet-resistant armor, nylon, computer chips and pharmaceutical packaging. Process technologies developed by PMT's UOP business form the foundation for most of the world's refiners, efficiently producing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel.

MRC

LyondellBasell announces new share repurchase program and increased dividend

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced that its Supervisory Board has authorized the company's Management Board to declare an interim dividend of USD0.85 per share, representing a 9% increase from the company's first quarter 2016 dividend, said the producer in its press release.

The interim dividend will be paid June 7, 2016 to shareholders of record May 24, 2016, with an ex-dividend date of May 20, 2016.

The company also announced that at its Annual General Meeting, shareholders approved a new share repurchase program authorizing the company to repurchase up to 10% of the company's shares over the next 18 months. The repurchases will be executed from time to time through open market or privately negotiated transactions.

"Because of our disciplined approach we have returned more than USD21.6 billion to our shareholders through dividend payments and share repurchases over the past five years," said Bob Patel, LyondellBasell CEO and chairman of the management board. "Our increased dividend and new share repurchase program demonstrate our focused commitment to return value to our shareholders."

As MRC informed previously, on 17 May 2016, LyondellBasell declared a force majeure on linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) following unexpected mechanical issues at plants in Texas and Illinois. The company said it experienced mechanical difficulties at its plants in La Porte, Texas, and in Morris, Illinois. The nature of the mechanical issues was not clear. The La Porte plant has an annual LLDPE capacity of 355,166 mt/year and the Morris facility has an annual LLDPE capacity of 295,292 mt/year.

LyondellBasell is one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 57 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.
MRC

Monsanto, once M&A instigator, now in awkward role as possible target

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A year after Monsanto Co sparked a massive consolidation race in the agrochemical industry by bidding for a rival, the world's largest seed company now finds itself in the uncomfortable role of takeover target, said Reuters.

Monsanto shares rallied as much as 12 percent on Thursday on new reports that Bayer AG and BASF SE were interested in the St. Louis-based company, highlighting the drive for more marriages in the sector. Bloomberg News reported Bayer was exploring a bid for Monsanto, while financial news website Street Insider reported that BASF was looking at a Monsanto acquisition.

Monsanto, Bayer and BASF all declined to comment. Talk of such deals has swirled for months as Monsanto faced mounting corporate woes and rivals met with advisers to weigh various deal combinations.

Both Bayer and BASF have been exploring tie-ups with Monsanto for several months, but valuation concerns have made a deal elusive, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The sources said both were concerned about the price Monsanto shareholders would want, emboldened by recent deals. Consolidation has been spurred by high inventories and low prices for agricultural commodities.

ChemChina agreed in February to acquire Switzerland's Syngenta AG for USD43 billion after Dow Chemical Co and DuPont inked a deal to combine into a USD130 billion company in December.

Still, some analysts were skeptical such a deal involving Monsanto would go through, or were even necessary for Bayer or BASF even though combining businesses would be complementary.
MRC

PTTGC plans maintenance at HDPE plant in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thailand's PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is likely to shut an high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the plant is expected to be taken off-line in early-June 2016. It is slated to remain under outage for around 15 days.

Located in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, the plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, PTT Global Chemical PCL is studying several options for supplying sufficient raw material to its petrochemical plants, including imports of oil feedstocks after declines in global crude prices. The move is part of a plan to cope with a potential drop in domestic natural gas supply after Thailand's government put bidding for new oil and gas concessions on hold.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

May prices of European HDPE fell for CIS markets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The May contract price of ethylene in Europe was agreed by EUR40/tonne higher than in April. However, European producers of high density polyethylene (HDPE) reduced their export prices of polymer for the CIS countries, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Negotiations over export prices of the European polyethylene (PE) began at the beginning of the month, many market participants reported a decrease in export prices by European HDPE producers, despite the rise in ethylene prices. In some cases, the price reduction was up to EUR30/tonne.

Deals for May HDPE shipments were done at EUR1,210-1,280/tonne FCA, whereas April deals were done in the range of EUR1,240-1,305/tonne FCA. Some producers had restrictions in supply, but in general, there were no major problems with contacting PE.

Deals for May shipments of pipe grade PE 100 were done in the range of EUR1,320-1,380/tonne FCA, which generally equalled the level of April prices.
MRC