A. Schulman completes acquisition of specialty plastics assets from Ferro Corporation

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A. Schulman, Inc. has announced that it has completed its acquisition of a selected majority of the assets of the Specialty Plastics business segment from Ferro Corporation for USD91 million in cash, as per the company's press release.

The agreement to acquire the assets was first announced on June 4, 2014. The acquisition includes four facilities located in the United States as well as operations in Spain.

"This acquisition is an excellent strategic complement to our existing capabilities and reflects our ongoing effort to expand our product offerings and geographic reach in target markets," said Joseph M. Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of A. Schulman. "We welcome the highly talented Specialty Plastics team to A. Schulman, and we are confident that they will fit in well with our performance-oriented growth culture."

The Specialty Plastics segment is a global supplier of custom engineered plastic compounds, colorants, and liquid coatings. The business offers a broad portfolio of proprietary products and recognized brand names serving a wide range of end markets including packaging, transportation, construction, appliances and agriculture.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share. A. Schulman anticipates achieving approximately USD5.5 million in synergies within 12 to 18 months following the close of the transaction, driven primarily by sourcing activities and plant efficiency actions.

As MRC informed previously, in mid-2012 A. Schulman Inc. inked a definitive agreement to acquire ECM Plastics, a privately owned plastics compounder located in Worcester, Mass., for USD36.5 million. Besides, Jeddah-based National Petrochemical Industrial Company (Natpet), a subsidiary of Alujain Corporation, entered into a joint venture agreement with A. Schulman to produce polypropylene compounds.

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. A. Schulman's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 69% amid continued sluggishness in European markets and higher-than-expected costs in Latin America, where the company has been consolidating its Brazilian operations. A. Schulman reported net sales of USD2.1 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS) and copolymer grades, reported the company on its site.

Effective immediately, or as existing contract terms allow, the July 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 EUR100/tonne;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR65/tonne;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR75/tonne.

The price increase responds to the rising costs of raw materials associated with the manufacturing of polystyrene and copolymers grades in Europe.

As MRC informed before, Styron and its affiliate companies in Europe raised May prices of all PS and copolymer grades as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR35/tonne;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR35/tonne;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR35/tonne.

PS is a key strategic business for Styron and an industry it will continue to focus innovation efforts on to help their diversified customer-base remain competitive in the different markets they serve such as packaging, appliances, building and construction.

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. StyronпїЅs 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 USD5.3 billion in revenue in 2013, with 19 manufacturing sites around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Unipetrol AS (Unipetrol) informed that on 3 July 2014 it exercised its pre-emptive right and accepted the offer from Eni International BV (Eni), based on which Unipetrol will acquire from Eni 303,301 shares of Ceska Rafinerska, AS (Ceska Rafinerska) amounting to 32.445% of the Ceska Rafinerska’s share capital (Transaction), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The acquisition price for the shares in the amount of USD40.9 million (EUR30 million), subject to additional adjustments before Transaction completion, will be financed from own financial sources of Unipetrol.

As of 3 July 2014, Unipetrol owns 67.5% of the Ceska Rafinerska’s share capital. After completion of the Transaction expected by the end of 2014, subject to obtaining relevant merger clearances, Unipetrol will become a sole shareholder of Ceska Rafinerska with 100% shareholding interest of the share capital.

Transaction is an opportunistic acquisition with the aim to gain full control over Ceska Rafinerska, be a sole decision-maker regarding capital investments, perform deeper restructuring of the company, further increase security of petrochemical feedstock supplies for continuation of Unipetrol’s petrochemical business development, as well as strengthen long-term presence of Unipetrol Group on the Czech market.

Ceska Rafinerska operates refineries in Litvinov and Kralupy, currently the only two running refineries in the Czech Republic, with a total conversion capacity of 8.7 million tons of crude oil per year. The company is a joint venture (JV) of two shareholders as of 3 July 2014: Unipetrol AS 67.555% and Eni International BV 32.445%. It was established in 1995 and started operating in the processing mode with no sales activities as a cost-plus entity in 2003.

As MRC wrote before, Unipetrol has acquired technology and production rights for a new polyethylene unit and wants to pick a contractor for the project in the first half of 2014. The company, after posting net losses in 2011 and 2012, laid out plans in June to invest almost USD1 billion over the next five years and make its petrochemical segment the biggest contributor to profit.

Unipetrol , a.s. is a group of companies operating in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 Unipetrol became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe. The UNIPETROL Group is oriented mostly towards oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all of these business areas the Unipetrol Group is among the key players both in the Czech Republic and on the Central European market. The Group ranks among the leading firms in the Czech Republic in terms of its revenues, and employs almost 4,000 people.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Essen-based Evonik Industries, a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer,is making an investment in the double-digit-million euro range in a new research center at the Rheinfelden site, reported the company on its site.

Starting at the beginning of 2016, research into silanes will be carried out in modern laboratories in the four-story building. Silanes are used in the electronics industry, in the tire industry, for the production of adhesives and sealants as well as plastics, and in the construction industry. Application engineering, analytics, and quality management will also be located in the new research center in the future. The center fits in perfectly with the integrated silane chemical production network in Rheinfelden, which encompasses research, development, application technology, and production.

Evonik produces silanes at its sites in Rheinfelden (Germany), Antwerp (Belgium), Rizhao (China), Mobile (USA), and Weston (USA). The specialty chemical company also operates laboratories for application technology support and regionally specialized research for silanes in China, India, Germany, and the United States. Evonik’s silane portfolio comprises chlorosilanes and organo-functional silanes with an overall annual capacity of 300,000 metric tons.

As MRC informed before, Evonik Industries is paving the way for a new technology whose applications include automotive finishes that are more scratch-resistant than ever before. The specialty chemicals company has developed an industrial-scale method for producing silane-modified binders for automotive finishes. The advantage of these silane-modified binders: silane groups increase crosslinking density, making it possible to create automotive finishes that are flexible yet harder, leading to improved scratch resistance.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC has released its 2013 Sustainability Report, entitled 'Creating Lasting Value', reflecting the company’s commitment to continuously create more sustainable business processes and more value for its stakeholders, as per the company's statement.

The report shares the latest information on the company’s progress on various dimensions of sustainability value creation. It highlights performance in creating economic value, protecting natural capital, developing human capital and building social and community relationships.

Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, Chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and Chairman of SABIC said, "This is our third report and it reflects the company’s ongoing journey toward achieving the highest level of sustainable performance possible. Our mission is to become more efficient in reducing our consumption of finite materials and our environmental footprint while, at the same time, aggressively pursuing our strategy of enabling others to operate in a more sustainable manner through our innovative product portfolios."

Commenting on the report, Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO, said that the sustainability process is a never ending process for SABIC, saying "We have moved forward in many areas, but we still have much to do. We will continue to be transparent in providing a yearly review of our actions, comparing our results against stated goals and utilizing globally accepted criteria to provide uniform measurement of our performance. Our commitment to sustainability is shared across all divisions of the company – it is focused on making a positive impact at every stage of the product life cycle. Our responsibility starts with supply chain decisions and continues through our production processes, distribution, customer applications and product end-of-life."

As MRC reported earlier, designed specifically to help customers in the beverage industry reduce transportation losses, SABIC broadened its stretch film portfolio in April 2014 to include one of the first commercially available materials in Europe to combine polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE).

SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
MRC