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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Argentina's stock regulator has rejected as inadequate an offer from Brazil's Braskem, Latin America's largest petrochemical company, to buy the roughly 30% of the shares of plastic maker Solvay Indupa that are publicly traded, as per Reuters.
Solvay Indupa is the Argentine-Brazilian unit of Belgium's Solvay, which owns 70.59% of the company. Solvay Indupa operates two industrial sites, one in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, and the other in Santo Andre, in Brazil's Sao Paulo state, that produce PVC plastic and caustic soda. The deal would represent Braskem's first move into production in Argentina.
In a contract signed last month, Braskem would buy the stake held by Solvay and buy the remainder of Solvay Indupa on the Buenos Aires stock exchange.
"The offer presented by Braskem of USD1.35 per share is in line neither with the book value of the company, which as of Sept. 30 was USD2.81, nor with average valuations during the fourth quarter of USD3.92," Argentina's CNV market regulator said in a statement.
The publicly traded shares of Solvay Indupa include a 16.7% stake held by Argentina's state pension fund, Anses.
As MRC informed previously, in February 2013, Solvay announced plans to divest its assets in the Argentine petrochemical producer Indupa, as part of a major restructuring and portfolio optimisation at Solvay. The company owns a 69.9% interest in Indupa, while the rest is traded on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange.
Indupa, with a manufacturing capacity of more than 500,000 tpa of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), runs facilities at Santo Andre, Brazil, and Bahia Blanca, Argentina.
Solvay, with a market share 27%, is the second largest PVC manufacturer in Europe, after Kerling with 29% of the market.
Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in Sao Paulo. The company is the largest petrochemical company in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. Braskem controls the three largest petrochemical complexes in Brazil, located in the cities of Camacari (Bahia), Maua (Sao Paulo) and Triunfo (Rio Grande do Sul). Besides these three petrochemical complexes, Braskem also controls a complex in Duque de Caxias (Rio de Janeiro).
MRC
Argentine regulator rejects offer from Braskem for Solvay Indupa
A. Schulman acquires American producers Prime Colorants
MOSCOW (MRC) -- A. Schulman, Inc. has purchased Prime Colorants Incorporated, a significant manufacturer of custom colors and additive concentrates in Franklin, Tennessee, for approximately USD15.1 million, reported the company on its site.
"This latest acquisition is part of our ongoing strategy to grow our custom color capabilities in the United States, as well as further transform our US operations from commodity products to a business focused on niche products and services. Color remains an area of opportunity for us in the United States, and the acquisition of Prime will enable us to serve customers better by offering color expertise in an area of the country where we were not previously located," said Joseph M. Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, A. Schulman.
Additionally, this added capacity will complement the company's recent acquisition of the Perrite Group which brought A. Schulman additional color capabilities in Malaysia, as well as its acquisition of Network Polymers which added to the company's niche business in the United States, he added.
As MRC informed earlier, in September, 2013, A. Schulman, Inc. purchased the Perrite Group, a thermoplastics manufacturing business with operations in Malaysia, the United Kingdom and France, for approximately USD52 million. The acquisition is expected to increase revenues in A. Schulman's Asia Pacific (APAC) segment by 35% and will double the size of the company's existing Engineered Plastics business in the region. It is expected to deliver approximately USD2 million to USD3 million in annual synergies, including initial savings in procurement followed by more significant savings in the area of operational efficiencies.
For 38 years, Prime has provided pelletized color concentrates and dry powder color expertise to customers in the automotive and building and construction markets. Prime also provides an entry point for A. Schulman in the liquid color market. The company expects revenues in calendar 2013 to be approximately USD12 million.
A. Schulman is a global plastics supplier, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins, which are used as raw materials in a variety of markets. A. Schulman has 33 manufacturing facilities globally. It reported net sales of USD2.2 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011.
MRC
Styron announces price increases for polystyrene and copolymers in Europe
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron Europe GmbH and its affiliate companies in Europe announced today price increases for all polystyrene (PS) and copolymer grades, reported the company on its site.
Effective immediately, or as existing contract terms allow, the January contract and spot prices for the products listed below will increase as follows:
STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) by EUR50/tonne; MAGNUM ABS resins and TYRIL SAN resins by EUR50/tonne.
As MRC reported earlier, Styron Europe increased prices for all PS, copolymer and expandable polystyrene (EPS) grades in December by EUR20-30/tonne.
Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, dedicated to collaborating with customers to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions. Styron’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. Styron had approximately USD 5.5 billion in revenue in 2012, with 20 manufacturing sites around the world, and 2100 employees.
MRC
European polyethylene rose by EUR15/tonne for CIS countries
European contract price of ethylene for January was agreed up EUR15/tonne from the level of December. As a result, many European producers have announced proportionally price increase for PE for CIS markets. At the same time, some producers have kept their price offers for January shipment at the level of December.
Deals for January low density polyethylene (LDPE) are discussed in the range EUR1,290-1,375/tonne FCA. Price offer for high density polyethylene (HDPE) were heard in the range of EUR1,180-1,255/tonne FCA.
MRC
Lukoil acquires loan for Bulgarian refinery upgrade
MOSCOW (MRC) -- OAO Lukoil subsidiary Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD has secured a €420 million line of credit from five international banks to finance the modernization of its Burgas, Bulgaria, refinery along the Black Sea, said SACE in its press release.
In addition to Italian export credit agency Instituto per i Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (SACE), which will cover 95% of the 10-year loan - banks providing the credit line include Societe Generale, ING Bank, BNP Paribas, and UniCredit SPA, according to SACE.
The Burgas modernization project is being executed under a lump-sum turnkey contract for the engineering, procurement, and construction of Phase 1 of a heavy residue hydrocracking complex to be built at the refinery that Lukoil let to Technip in January 2012, says SACE.
The contract, worth more than EUR900 million, covers the detail engineering, procurement of equipment and material, construction, precommissioning, and commissioning of a 2.5 million-tonne/year vacuum residue hydrocracker based on Axens H-Oil process, Technip said in a Jan. 25, 2012, release.
Implementation of the project will allow the refinery to increase output of Euro 5 diesel fuel by 1.2 million tpy as well as to cease production of high-sulfur fuel oil, Lukoil said in a separate Jan. 25, 2012, release. The key element of the new complex, which is slated for commissioning in January 2015, is a tar hydrocracker with a planned capacity of 2.5 million tpy, according to Lukoil.