PPG withdraws USD29-B AkzoNobel bid

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG Industries has withdrawn its proposal to combine with AkzoNobel and will not pursue a public offer for all issued and outstanding shares of AkzoNobel, said Reuters.

PPG said that it made the final decision after careful consideration, including the stakeholder interests of both companies.

"We were hopeful throughout this process that AkzoNobel’s Boards would see the merits of our compelling proposal to combine our two great companies and create significant shareholder value and a more sustainable business for the future," said Michael McGarry, PPG Chairman and CEO.

"We made a final attempt for engagement late last week and through a letter to AkzoNobel (attached). In that letter, we addressed AkzoNobel’s stated commentary around value, certainty, timing and stakeholder considerations, and provided additional and specific commitments and assurances, including a significant break-fee and an offer to negotiate a nominal price increase as part of an agreed transaction. However, AkzoNobel’s Boards have consistently refused to engage and did not respond to our call or letter. As a result, we believe it is in the best interests of PPG and its shareholders to withdraw our proposal to AkzoNobel at this time."

Akzo Nobel NV Chairman Antony Burgmans has resisted numerous offers over the course of three months, as well as an attempt by Elliott Management Corp. to remove him to jump-start talks with PPG. A court this week rejected a petition by Elliott to force a shareholder vote on firing the chairman. The petition claimed that Mr. Burgmans was in "flagrant breach" of his duties to investors for rejecting PPG’s offers. Elliott declined to comment on Akzo or its view on the bid failing.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe has announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS) grades, said the producer on its site.

Effective 1 June, 2017, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the product listed below rose as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR50 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR50 per metric ton.

As MRC wrote previously, on 3 April 2017, Trinseo, and its affiliate companies in Europe decreased prices for all PS grades, as follows:

- STYRON GPPS grades - by EUR190 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-TECH HIPS grades - by EUR190 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.7 billion in net sales in 2016, with 15 manufacturing sites around the world, and nearly 2,200 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical producer, has announced that the deal to acquire the Glanzstoff Group tire cord and single-end cord business has been concluded and will add to the company’s portfolio of choice auto sector solutions, said Technicaltextile.

Glanzstoff is Europe’s largest manufacturer of both tire cord fabrics and single-end cords, projecting IVL into a strong position for further growth with its extant pre-eminence in the Rayon, Aramids, Nylon 6.6 and Polyester businesses within the auto segment.

Indorama Ventures entered into the tire cord business in 2014 with the acquisition of German-based PHP Fibers. The company also owns one of the most prominent polyester tire fabric businesses in China, Performance Fibers. Work commenced at the beginning of 2017 to expand the Performance Fibers manufacturing line due to increased demand from China’s improving economy. Glanzstoff is also currently implementing a single end cord project in China that will commence production in Q4, 2017.

Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures said, "This is an outstanding asset in our portfolio and one we have acquired as part of our long-standing ambition to establish a solid foothold in the European auto sector, especially in relation to the tire business. Over the past five years, IVL has invested substantially into creating a diversified earnings stream via its High Value-added (HVA) portfolio. Diversification into HVA, which now accounts for 50% of the Company’s core EBITDA, has allowed us to deliver robust earnings on a sustained basis. In order to ensure sharp focus, the business is further segmented into high-growth industry verticals, including Automotive and Hygiene, and is driven by investments in intellectual property and innovations."

"The key," Mr. Lohia added, "is the focus on our core areas of strength and a willingness to invest and then reinvest to take advantage of our global resources. The Glanzstoff acquisition takes us from Polyester and Nylon 6.6 into Rayon but that is still not far removed from our current portfolio as it will enhance our product offering to major customers. In a few short years, the HVA segment has skyrocketed and now delivers revenues of around USD3 billion and serves segments that individually grow at around 7% year-on-year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem, the largest thermoplastics resins producer in the Americas and the leading producer of biopolymers in the world, along with Sealed Air Corporation, an innovative packaging, cleaning and hygiene solutions company, and Naturepedic, the leading manufacturer of certified organic mattresses and bedding products for the whole family in the U.S., announced their partnership to create a new-to-world formula for renewable polyethylene foam, said the company on its website.

With this initiative, Sealed Air aims to advance their strategy to create a better way for life by re-imagining the industries they serve around the globe, and develop a more efficient and sustainable supply chain for them. "Renewable polyethylene foam technology is a patent pending innovation which is helping us re-think the polyethylene foam industry. By using innovation, creativity and bio-based polymers we are promoting sustainability and creating a better value for life," says Dr. N.S. Ramesh, Senior Engineering Fellow, Product Care R&D.

This innovation was first announced by Sealed Air in Frankfurt, Germany, in April of 2017. Now Braskem and Sealed Air will attend the Sustainable Brands Conference, in Detroit, from May 22 through 25, to share this breakthrough product at Braskem's booth in the Good Materials section in the Activation Hub.

Braskem's I'm Green Polyethylene (PE) is a bio-based resin made from ethanol, a renewable and sustainable resource produced from Brazilian sugarcane, and a drop-in substitute for conventional oil-based polyethylene. Cultivation of sugarcane utilizes CO2 and releases O2, which means the material has a negative carbon footprint. The use of Braskem's Green polyethylene in the production of one ton of Sealed Air's foam equates to 3.09 tons of CO2 captured from the atmosphere from a cradle to Braskem gate life cycle perspective.

"Sealed Air's vision perfectly aligns with our purpose at Braskem, which is to improve peoples' lives by creating sustainable solutions in chemicals and plastics. The renewable polyethylene foam is a phenomenal achievement and we are proud to partner with Sealed Air and be involved with this innovation," said Gustavo Sergi, director of Renewable Chemicals at Braskem.

"We have been watching the industry moving more and more toward renewable materials and noticed a great deal of energy being dedicated specifically to bio plastics," said Chad Stephens, VP of Research and Development for Sealed Air. "For Sealed Air, the next logical strategic step was to progress the advancement of renewable polyethylene foams in our product offerings, enabling our clients to further reduce their packaging footprint with more sustainable and enviro-friendly solutions while still providing superior protection against damage."

The first application of the renewable polyethylene foam will be in Naturepedic's mattresses. Naturepedic was responsible for introducing Sealed Air to Braskem while searching for an alternative to polyethylene made from petroleum for its crib mattresses. Barry Cik, Founder of Naturepedic, strongly believes in the importance of responsibly sourcing the company's raw materials. "I firmly believe that making choices with the future in mind is the right, responsible behavior we all should strive for. Using renewable materials decouples us from fossil based plastics, and this is a key tenant of our company's purpose."

Having pioneered the use of bio-based materials in the mattress industry, Naturepedic never uses polyurethane foam or associated flame retardants in any of its products and has now been able to eliminate virtually all petroleum-based materials from its products. Using polyethylene foam made from non-GMO sugarcane sourced from existing plantations also provides the company with a lightweight alternative to latex or steel coils.

Braskem is one of the world's leading plastics and chemical companies with 41 industrial plants in Brazil, the United States, Germany and Mexico. Braskem is the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the leading producer of biopolymers in the world, creating more environmental-friendly, intelligent and sustainable solutions through chemicals and plastics.

Sealed Air Corporation creates a world that feels, tastes and works better. In 2016, the Company generated revenue of approximately USD6.8 billion by helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals in the face of today's biggest social and environmental challenges.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR Inc. has been awarded Operator Training Simulator (OTS) and Reliability Based Maintenance (RBM) services contracts by JSC EuroChem Northwest for their ammonia plant under construction in Kingisepp, Russia, said Worldfertilizer.

The OTS will provide a cost-effective solution for training operators for a safe and efficient plant start-up and continued on-going operational training. The RBM will enable proactive monitoring of assets and formulation of appropriate reliability strategies, which will lead to continuous improvement of performance, improved safety and higher productivity.

Under the terms of the contracts, KBR will provide turnkey delivery of the OTS and RBM solutions and services for the Kingisepp ammonia plant with design capacity of 2700/2890 tpd, or 1 million tpy. The new plant uses KBR's highly efficient Purifier Ammonia technology.

"KBR is pleased to have the opportunity to provide OTS and RBM for JSC EuroChem Northwest," said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology and Consulting (T&C). "KBR is committed to providing state-of-the-art solutions for safe plant start-up and operations and providing an environment to achieve preventative and predictive maintenance activities of the ammonia plant."

"This project is indicative of KBR's strategic commitment to growing our presence in Russia," Derbyshire continued.
MRC