Solvay completes sale of Acetow to Blackstone

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has completed the divestment of its cellulose acetate tow business, Acetow, to private equity funds managed by Blackstone, said the prodcer on its site.

The transaction is based on an enterprise value of around EUR1 billion, resulting in net financial debt reduction of some EUR0.7 billion.

As MRC informed before, in late 2016, Solvay completed the sale of its 70.59% stake in Solvay Indupa to Brazilian chemical group Unipar Carbocloro, following the approval earlier this month of the Brazilian antitrust authority CADE.

Besides, in early July 2016, Solvay completed the divestment of its shareholding in Inovyn (London), bringing to an end Solvay's chlorvinyls joint venture with Ineos. Solvay received exit cash proceeds amounting to EUR335 million (USD370.7 million). The dissolution of the jv follows regulatory clearances from the relevant authorities.

Inovyn was formed on 1 July 2015 as a jv between Ineos and SolVin, a subsidiary of Solvay. Solvay and Ineos signaled their decision to end their chlorvinyls jv in March this year.

Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with about 27,000 employees spread across 58 countries. It generated pro forma net sales of EUR10.9 bn in 2016, with 90% made from activities where it ranks among the world’s top 3 players.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm with a disciplined focused on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors, announced today that it has partnered with management to recapitalize Tri-Tex Co. Inc., a leading Canadian specialty chemicals manufacturer and value-added distributor focused on the adhesives, coatings and sealants, surfactants, and textile chemical markets, as per Businesswire.

SK Capital has acquired a majority control position with the founders retaining a significant ownership stake in the ongoing entity.

Aaron Davenport, a Managing Director of SK Capital, commented, "SK Capital is pleased to partner with Tri-Tex, a Company with a strong reputation for product innovation, customer service and application-specific solutions. We have a long-standing relationship with Naim and Natalie Laham, under whose leadership Tri-Tex has flourished into a market leader."

Barry Penney, a Principal of SK Capital, added, "We see multiple opportunities for Tri-Tex to collaborate with the existing SK Capital portfolio including leveraging our combined purchasing power, supply chain initiatives, sales & products agreements, and new product collaboration. Moreover, we believe the Company is ideally positioned to capitalize on the fragmented nature of its core markets by growing through highly accretive acquisitions to augment its geographic scope and product portfolio."

Natalie Laham, CEO of Tri-Tex, commented, "We are excited to partner with SK Capital, a firm ideally suited to support our next phase of growth given their significant experience in the specialty chemicals sector and proven track record of growing businesses. With SK’s support and active engagement, we look forward to accelerating our growth by providing leading innovative solutions to our expanding base of customers."

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP served as legal counsel to SK Capital for the transaction. CIBC Mid-Market Investment Banking acted as exclusive financial advisor to Tri-Tex. CIBC provided committed debt financing for the transaction.

SK Capital is a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors. The firm builds strong and growing businesses that generate substantial long-term value for its investors. SK Capital utilizes its industry, operating and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing companies with improved strategic positioning, growth, profitability and risk profiles. The firm currently has approximately USD1.9 billion of assets under management and its portfolio companies generate revenues of over USD5.0 billion annually and employ approximately 8,700 people.

Tri-Tex is a leading producer of high-performance specialty chemicals focused on the adhesive, sealants, surfactants and textile & paper chemical markets. Headquartered in St-Eustache, Quebec, Tri-Tex’s comprehensive suite of products are critical precursors used to develop every-day consumer and industrial applications in a variety of end-markets including paints, printing, personal care, hygiene, construction, textile and marine.
MRC

MOSCOW (Market Report) - Prices for low density polyethylene (LDPE) steadily decreased in May in the Russian market. At the same time, the dynamics of price decrease accelerated in the last two weeks of the month, resulting in average monthly price cuts of Rb4,000/tonne, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The depreciation of LDPE began in the second half of April, low demand for polyethylene and excess supply became the main reason for the price decrease. The downtrend of prices continued in May, with the most significant price fall in the last two weeks, when prices were adjusted almost daily. Thus, by the end of the month, LDPE prices fell by Rb3,000 - 5,000/tonne, depending on the grade.

The constant cheapening of polyethylene negatively affected demand, converters deliberately limited and postponed their purchases in anticipation of further price decrease. PE supply in the market has been excessive from the beginning of the year, while LDPE supply to the market declined by 4% in the first four months.

In the early May deals for 108 grade LDPE were done in the range of Rb95,000 - 98,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in the late May prices decreased to Rb91,500 - 95,000/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT.

The same situation is in the market of 158 LDPE. In the early May deals for 158 grade LDPE were done in the range of Rb98,000 - 102,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in the late May prices decreased to Rb92,500 - 98,500/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Beijing BHD Petroleum Technology Co. Ltd. (BHD), an affiliate of independent oilfield services provider Recon Technology Ltd., has signed and completed an agreement with Beijing OriginWater Purification Engineering Technology Co. Ltd (BOW Engineering), a subsidiary of Beijing OriginWater Technology Co. Ltd. (BOW), to install and provide maintenance and chemical testing services for an all-in-one wastewater treatment equipment package to the Golmud Petroleum refinery, an affiliate of Qinghai Oilfield, a PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PetroChina) subsidiary, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Recon will provide a complete set of wastewater treatment equipment and service to an upgrade renovation project for Golmud Petroleum Refinery, which is expected to be completed by the end of May 2017 and is valued at RMB 6.37 MM (approximately USD0.94 MM).

China's new Environment Protection Law and the Emission Standard of Pollutants for the Petroleum Refining Industry require all China petroleum industry companies to meet higher standards for industry wastewater by July 1, 2017. As China has increasingly enforced compliance with these requirements, oil and chemical companies have been upgrading their old equipment and treatment technology with renovations, such as those being undertaken at the Golmud Petroleum refinery.

As MRC wrote before, in late 2015, PetroChina, China's largest oil and gas producer, commissioned a new crude oil refinery in China. Located at Anning in Yunnan province of China, the refinery has a crude processing capacity of 260,000 bpd.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Amec Foster Wheeler has been awarded an engineering contract by ISAB Srl, a Lukoil Group Co., as part of a major turnaround at their refinery in Priolo, Sicily, Italy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

ISAB has selected Amec Foster Wheeler to execute the engineering for the revamp of its facilities in 2018. The scope of work includes home office and site engineering, estimating services and technical assistance during the construction phase.

This award builds on Amec Foster Wheeler’s track record as one of the world’s most experienced contractors in the engineering and construction of residue catalytic cracking/fluid catalytic cracking (RCC/FCC) units, with experience stretching back more than 50 yr. In the last 30 years, the company has undertaken more than 250 RCC and FCC projects; designed and constructed more than 40 new units; and undertaken more than 200 revamps, expansions, upgrades and turnarounds for 50+ refineries in 30 countries across the world.
MRC