February 02 (plastemart.com) -- Dow Chemical Co. aims to sell Styron Inc, its styrene
business by the end of March after an eight-month process by getting
private equity approaches. After holding second-round bids last month, Dow
is opening Styron’s books for further due diligence to whittle down the
number of remaining suitors. Styron, with sales of US$5 bln valued by
Dow between US$1-2 bln.
As interest in acquisitions is rising in the chemical industry, BASF
plans to go the same way as it seeks to end an almost 3 year quest to
sell unwanted styrene assets. Selling styrene assets will speed up
BASF’s move away from less-profitable commodity products at a time when
rivals in the Middle East rivals expand capacity. BASF’s styrenics unit
generates US$4.2 bln in sales and is expected to be sold for ?1-1.5
bln. For BASF, finding a buyer would mean avoiding a prolonged exit via
a partnership agreement, viewed as a consolation move. Talks are under
way with a potential partner for a styrene joint venture, as a prelude
to exiting the market. Antitrust rules could prevent European rivals
Total SA and Ineos Nova LLC from bidding. Petroleum Investment Co. of
Abu Dhabi last year acquired Nova Chemicals Corp. of Canada. Saudi
Basic Industries Corp. aims to become the world leader in chemicals by
2020.
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