Brazil watchdog body suggests blocking Braskem-Solvay deal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A high committee within Brazil's antitrust regulator recommended blocking the purchase of Argentina's chemical firm Solvay Indupa by petrochemical giant Braskem, reported Reuters with reference to Brazil's official gazette.

In a non-binding decision, the General Superintendence of Brazil's watchdog Cade said the deal is potentially anti-competitive. The ruling is not final and will be reviewed by Cade's Tribunal.

Solvay Indupa, which makes vinyl and caustic soda in Argentina and Brazil, is a subsidiary of Belgian chemical group Solvay. The deal announced in December 2013 would mark Braskem's first move into Argentina.

Braskem, Latin America's largest petrochemical company, said it disagreed with the recommendation, noting it remains confident in the approval of the deal.

"Braskem is a price-taker, not a price-maker. With the purchase of Solvay Indupa, Braskem's share in the PVC and caustic soda international markets will be of 2% and 1%, respectively," the company said in a statement.

Solvay, with a market share 27%, is the second largest PVC manufacturer in Europe, after Kerling with 29% of the market.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The ICIS Kavaler Award, sponsored by The Chemists' Club in recognition for outstanding achievement as voted on by his peers, will be awarded to LyondellBasell CEO Jim Gallogly, said ICIS.

This unique global chemical industry award will be presented to Mr. Gallogly at a black tie dinner ceremony on Tuesday, September 16, 2014, at the Metropolitan Club of New York. The distinguishing feature of this award is that the winner is selected by his/her peers - the senior executives selected in the ICIS Top 40 Power Players listing, a global ranking of the leaders making the greatest impact on the chemical industry.

"Few have capitalized on the US shale gas boom better than LyondellBasell. Led by Mr. Gallogly, the company has established and maintained a solid financial footing for many years to come," said Joseph Chang, global editor of ICIS Chemical Business.

"LyondellBasell has significantly boosted value by returning profits to shareholders though dividends and stock buybacks - all while making smart investments in key expansion projects that will raise cost advantaged capacity without massive capital outlays," he added.

"At LyondellBasell, we understand the importance of having a sound business strategy. Striving to get the basics right is essential. We call it 'Everyday Excellence.' It starts with operating our facilities safely and reliably. Nothing matters more. When you do this and apply a disciplined approach to costs and future investments, special things can happen," said Jim Gallogly, CEO of LyondellBasell.

"On behalf of all the employees at LyondellBasell, we thank ICIS and The Chemists' Club for this recognition. It honors the hard work of so many in transforming a recently bankrupt company into an industry leader," Gallogly added.

The award is a revival of the Kavaler Award, which was presented by Chemical Market Reporter to leading chemical CEOs from 1990 to 1999, including Jon Huntsman Sr, founder, chairman and CEO of Huntsman, and Frank Popoff, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical.

Arthur Kavaler, who served for 46 years as reporter, editor and eventually publisher and editor-in-chief of Chemical Market Reporter - one of the three publications incorporated into ICIS Chemical Business - passed away at the age of 91 on January 18, 2012. Kavaler, a probing reporter and an editor with unwavering conviction, had a major impact on chemical industry journalism.

ICIS Chemical Business is part of ICIS. ICIS is the world's largest petrochemical market information provider and has fast-growing energy and fertilizer divisions. Our aim is to give companies in global commodities markets a competitive advantage by delivering trusted pricing data, high-value news, analysis and independent consulting, enabling our customers to make better-informed trading and planning decisions. With a global staff of more than 800, ICIS has employees based in Houston, Washington, New York, London, Montpellier, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Milan, Mumbai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Yantai, Tokyo, Perth. ICIS is a division of Reed Business Information, part of Reed Elsevier Plc.

LyondellBasell (LYB) is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 55 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemicals maker DuPont cut its operating profit forecast for the second quarter and the full year, saying sales in its agriculture and performance chemicals units increased at a slower pace than it had expected, said Reuters.

The company's shares fell about 4% in extended trading. DuPont has been focusing on its agriculture business, its biggest, for the past few quarters.

The company, however, reported a rare quarterly decline in sales at this unit in April as farmers in North America delayed purchases due to an unusually harsh winter. DuPont had then said it expected "significant" growth in the unit's operating earnings in the second quarter ending June 30.

The company said on Thursday that corn seed sales in its farm business were lower than expected, while seed inventory write-downs were higher than anticipated. The harsh winter also hit herbicide sales, the company said.

DuPont expects operating earnings in its agriculture business to fall in low teens in percentage terms in the second quarter, the company said on a conference call. Corn pricing in North America is expected to be a bit lower than its previous estimate, the company said.

The spinoff is part of the company's strategy to move into less volatile businesses. The chemicals unit has weighed on DuPont's results since 2012, mainly due to weak prices for a white pigment used in toothpastes, sunscreen and other products.

The company also said it expected to record a pretax restructuring charge of about USD270 million, or 20 cents per share after tax, in the second quarter.

A number of chemical companies, including Dow Chemical Co, have come under investor pressure to raise shareholder returns by spinning off less stable units.

As MRC wrote before, DuPont Co. said its first-quarter 2014 earnings fell 57% as the chemicals and agricultural-products company reported that growth in most of its businesses was offset by harsh weather and shifts in agriculture. DuPont reported a profit of USD1.44 billion, down from USD3.35 billion, a year earlier. Excluding expenses related to the separation of the performance-chemical business, year-earlier customer-claims-related charges, tax impacts and other items, adjusted earnings rose to USD1.58 from USD1.56. Revenue decreased 2.7% to USD10.1 billion.

DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802. DuPont developed many polymers such as Vespel, neoprene, nylon, Corian, Teflon, Mylar, Kevlar, Zemdrain, M5 fiber, Nomex, Tyvek, Sorona and Lycra. DuPont developed Freon (chlorofluorocarbons) for the refrigerant industry, and later more environmentally friendly refrigerants. It developed synthetic pigments and paints including ChromaFlair.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US olefins producer LyondellBasell is in the process of restarting its steam cracker in La Porte, Texas, as per Plastemart.

The planned turnaround at the cracker, which has an ethylene production capacity of 1.7 billion lb/year, started in late March and was to be completed by June 20, though unforeseen issues pushed the startup procedures to late June. The startup activity coincided with a flaring notification left by the company on a community hotline.

The turnaround also includes a planned capacity expansion; the company previously announced plans to increase La Porte's ethylene production capacity to 2.5 billion lb/year.

LyondellBasell Industries NV is a manufacturing company. The company produces chemicals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts. LyondellBasell Industries operates globally and is headquartered in the Netherlands. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay SA and Ineos Group AG have given a name to their chlorovinyls joint venture, Inovyn, as the two firms prepare the launch the company by the end of 2014, said Plasticsnews.

The new company will officially open following divestments by both companies required by the European Commission. Until completion, Solvay and Ineos will continue to run their businesses separately.

"Thanks to this agreement we now have a unique opportunity to create a world- class competitive player with high-quality assets and substantial synergies, better able to withstand the challenging environment in Europe," said Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Solvay. "This is another key step in the transformation of Solvay's business profile."
Inovyn will be based in London and have an estimated 3 billion euros (USD4 billion) in annual sales.

The venture, announced last year, would allow the companies to cut costs in areas from transport to marketing and raise profitability amid a European industry suffering from inflated raw material and energy costs. The PVC market is facing overcapacity and weak demand in Europe, prompting companies in the labor-intensive industry to explore deals. Solvay has said it plans to exit the PVC venture at a later stage.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company founded in 1863, with its head office in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium. The company has diversified into two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Solvay supplies over 1500 products across 35 brands of high-performance polymers – fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra polymers, high-barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds.

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
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