MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporationannounced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of the remaining 50% interest in the Sasol-Huntsman maleic anhydride joint venture from Sasol, said the company.
Huntsman now owns 100% of the entity with manufacturing assets located in Moers, Germany, and the capacity to produce 230 million pounds annually of maleic anhydride. Huntsman paid Sasol approximately USD100 million, which includes acquired cash net of any debt and is subject to customary post-closing adjustments.
Peter Huntsman, Chairman, President and CEO, commented: "Closing on the acquisition of the remaining interest in our maleic German joint venture provides us with the flexibility to fully integrate our European business into our worldwide footprint, thereby better servicing our global customer base in key markets such as construction and coatings. This fits well into our core strategy to expand our portfolio of businesses with higher, more stable margins and strong free cash flow."
Monte Edlund, President of Huntsman’s Performance Products division, added: "We are very pleased and excited to assume full control of this excellent business and asset. By fully integrating the Moers, Germany, plant with our existing maleic anhydride business, we will be able to improve our service and offering into key markets such as resins in construction, watercraft, transportation vehicles, and sporting goods, as well as into applications such as food acidulants, oilfield chemicals, and engine oil additives."
The deal was announced in July 2019.
As it was informed earlier, SIBUR intends to produce up to 45,000 tonnes/y of maleic anhydride, a key ingredient in paints and coatings, at its plant in Tobolsk, Siberia. Russia's market for decorative paint and coatings stood at about 877,300 tones, while the industrial paint and coating materials market was estimated at 416,700 tonnes, presenting 32.3% of the overall Russian market.
MA is mostly used in the manufacture of unsaturated polyesters resins (UPRs) used in the production of boat hulls, bathroom fixtures, automobiles, tanks and pipes. Other outlets include 1,4- butanediol (BDO), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL).
Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2018 revenues more than USD9 billion.
MRC