MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Solvay Group agreed to sell its North American and European amphoteric surfactant business to OpenGate Capital, a private equity firm with headquarters in Los Angeles, as per the company's press release.
The sale includes the three main production sites supporting the amphoteric product lines located in University Park, Illinois (USA), Genthin, Germany, Halifax, United Kingdom, and a tolling business in Turkey. The agreement also includes tolling and service agreements between Solvay and OpenGate to ensure a seamless transition and minimal customer disruption.
“This agreement represents another critical step in the execution of our strategic plan as we further focus our home & personal care portfolio on growing specialty formulations and custom solutions,” commented Michael Radossich, president of Solvay's Novecare global business unit.
In OpenGate Capital, Solvay has identified a strong buyer for the North American and European amphoteric surfactant business while the sale will generate additional resources for Solvay to invest in its strategic growth segments as part of its portfolio simplification journey. Solvay expects to close the sale by the end of March pending completion of all required social dialogues and regulatory approvals.
As MRC reported earlier, in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.
We remind that BASF-YPC, a 50-50 joint venture of BASF and Sinopec, undertook a planned shutdown at its naphtha cracker on 30 April 2020. The company initially planned to start turnaround at the cracker on April 5, 2020. The plant remained under maintenance unitl 18 June, 2020. Located in Jiangsu, China, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 750,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 400,000 mt/year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of EUR10.2 billion in 2019. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States, where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program.
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