September 22, 2004 Clariant

Clariant Sells Its Stake In SF-Chem for CHF 22 Million
http://www.clariant.com/corporate/cc_news.nsf/NS.vi.newsreleases/FFD0F424AD22B8F6C1256F17001D8884?opendocument

Clariant has sold its 25% stake in SF-Chem, based in Pratteln, Switzerland, to Capvis, a Swiss based Private Equity company, and the company management for CHF 22 million. The Basel-based agrochemical company Syngenta, which owns the remaining 75% of SF-Chem, is also selling its stake to Capvis.

The SF-Chem transaction is part of Clariant's strategy to sell businesses that are outside its core activities. Last year the company began a far-reaching Transformation Program that includes selling several non-strategic businesses, cutting costs and making sustainable competitiveness improvements.

September 2004　Syngenta

Syngenta sells stake in SF-Chem
http://www.syngenta.com/en/media/article.aspx?article_id=446

Syngenta announced today that it is selling its 75 per cent stake in the Swiss chemical company SF-Chem to the Zurich-based private equity firm Capvis. The remaining 25 per cent stake held by Clariant is also being sold to Capvis. The total consideration for the transaction is CHF81 million ($64 million), of which Syngenta’s share is CHF59 million ($46 million), plus an additional performance-related component.

“It has become increasingly clear that our investment in SF-Chem is no longer core“, said Christoph Mader, responsible for Syngenta in Switzerland.

SF-Chem
http://www.sf-chem.com/

SF-Chem supplies customers in the chemical industry, in particular in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and speciality chemicals industries. The company, founded in 1917, has its head office and production facilities at Pratteln in Basel, Switzerland.

SF-Chem is pursuing a growth strategy with its independently operated business units Chemicals and Custom Manufacturing in order to ensure an independent worldwide market position.

November 15, 2004 3M

Dyneon and Meilan Reach Cooperative Agreement on PTFE
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/_l/en_US/_s.155/122309/_s.155/130510

Dyneon LLC, a 3M company and one of the world's leading fluoropolymer producers, and Meilan Group, a Jiangsu, China-based company and one of China's leading fluorochemical producers, have reached an agreement to establish a Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) manufacturing relationship in China to provide PTFE products for both Meilan and Dyneon.

With this move, Dyneon continues to build on its long-term commitment to the worldwide fluoropolymer business, effectively strengthening its product availability and reinforcing its ability to supply product globally. Under this arrangement, which is the first of a series of cooperative projects planned between the companies, Dyneon will be able to better serve and support its customers.


Dyneon, a 3M company, is one of the world's leading fluoropolymer producers with operations or representation in more than 50 countries. Headquartered in Oakdale, Minn., Dyneon employs more than 800 people globally who are dedicated to customer service, technical and sales support, marketing, research, application development, and production.

日本経済新聞　2005/2/22

後発医薬品　ノバルティス１位に　米独２社を７９００億円で買収

　スイスの医薬品大手ノバルティスは２１日、ドイツの後発医薬品（ジェネリクス）２位のヘクサルを買収することで合意したと発表した。ヘクサルと提携関係にある米後発品大手イオン・ラブズも傘下に収める。両社の買収の結果、ノバルティスの後発品部門「サンド」は、後発品メーカーとしては世界最大手となる。
　
（毎日新聞）　後発品メーカーとしてはイスラエルのテバ・ファーマシューティカルを抜き世界最大手となる。

2005/2/21　Novartis

Novartis to acquire Hexal AG and Eon Labs, creating the world leader in generics
http://dominoext.novartis.com/NC/NCPRRE01.nsf/44aff02a639be034c1256b4b007b5f4d/4cd9e3c925ebe6f8c1256fae00802fdc?OpenDocument

2005/6/27 Quadrant

Quadrant acquires Poly Hi Solidur
http://www.quadrant.ch/presse/prr_e.asp?preview=10&lang=5&id=130&pagePos=1

Quadrant has signed an agreement with Menasha Corporation to purchase its Poly Hi Solidur, Inc. business, the world's leading manufacturer of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) semi-finished products for machining and fabrication. The purchase price of approximately US$ 82 million in cash plus the assumption of US$ 3 million of capitalized leases will be financed from existing liquid funds and by increasing bank borrowings by about 90 million Swiss francs. An increase in share capital is not planned. The transaction will be completed in August of this year. This external growth step is the second-largest in Quadrant’s history and significantly extends the company’s product range and its global leadership in the market for engineering plastic products.

Poly Hi Solidur, based in Fort Wayne, Ind., US, operates production facilities in the USA, Germany, France, the UK, Japan and South Africa, and has dedicated R&D, sales and business development resources among its workforce of over 1000 employees worldwide. In 2004, the company posted total sales of US$ 169 million, approximately two-thirds of which were generated in the US.

UHMW-PE products display very high non-stick characteristics similar to Teflon(R) and high resistance to corrosion from chemicals and to abrasive environments such as sand and slurries. In machined and fabricated part form, their uses include applications in material handling, agricultural, power transmission and food processing machinery, as well as in medical devices, shipping and recreational equipment. Poly Hi Solidur’s branded UHMW-PE products include the well-known TIVAR(R) and QuickSilver(R) trademarks.

2005/9/16

Sterling Chemicals Announces Exit From Acrylonitrile and Derivative Businesses
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050916/daf007a.html?.v=1

STERLING CHEMICALS, INC. announced that it was exiting the acrylonitrile business and related derivative operations. The Company's decision was based on a history of operating losses incurred by its acrylonitrile and derivatives business, and was made after a full review and analysis of the Company's strategic alternatives.

Based in Houston, Texas, Sterling Chemicals, Inc. manufactures a variety of petrochemical products at its facilities in Texas City, Texas.

Sterling Chemicals

We manufacture styrene, acetic acid and plasticizers at our Texas City, Texas facility.

Styrene
Percent of Total North American Capacity 11%
North American Market Position by Capacity 4

Acetic Acid
Percent of Total North American Capacity 17%
North American Market Position by Capacity 3

Plasticizers
Percent of Total North American Capacity 9%
North American Market Position By Capacity 3

2006/3/10 Platts

Canada seeks investment in oil, petrochemicals from Alberta sands


Aromatics would be extracted from raw bitumen contained in the oil sands, while olefins would be cracked from naphtha to be produced from synthetic crude oil, which in turn would come from bitumen as well.

In a feasibility study presented at a seminar to a group of Japanese delegates, Plessis estimated that a production capacity of 300,000 b/d of bitumen could support a worldscale steam cracker with ethylene, propylene and butadiene capacities of 2,800 mt/day (1 million mt/year), 1,600 mt/day, and 270 mt/day, respectively.

2006/7/6 BOC

BOC to build only carbon dioxide plant in U.S. Northeast
CO2 to come from ethanol production in Volney, N.Y.
http://www.boc.com/news/2006/July/barticle_1230_06jul06.asp

BOC, one of the world's largest industrial gases companies, is expanding its carbon dioxide (CO2) capacity with a new plant in Volney, New York. The plant will be the first CO2 plant built in the Northeast in nearly two decades and will be the only CO2 plant in the region.

BOC will build the 600 ton a day plant at the Permolex International/NEB ethanol plant, expected to begin operating in December 2007, and which will be housed in a former brewery in the Riverview Business Park, some 25 miles north of Syracuse.

When BOC’s plant comes online next year it will capture ethanol’s by-product, CO2, purify it and liquefy it for sale to BOC customers. Those customers, major food and beverage companies and chemicals manufacturers are located throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England.

2006/3/6 Linde

Recommended cash offer by Linde for BOC

Linde AG, Wiesbaden/Germany, has agreed to make a pre-conditional offer to acquire the entire share capital of The BOC Group plc, Windlesham/UK, for 1,600 pence in cash per share. The board of directors of BOC intends to recommend BOC shareholders to accept the offer.
The making of the offer is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of European and US competition authority clearance pre-conditions and the offer is subject to the requisite approval of BOC's shareholders and the English Courts. Given the complementary product portfolios of both companies, Linde expects that the pre-conditions can be satisfied. Linde currently anticipates this will occur by the end of May 2006. If the pre-conditions are satisfied by that time, the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2006.

Following the acquisition, Linde will be one of the world's leading industrial gases and engineering groups with combined gas and engineering sales of approximately Euro 11.9 billion.

The funds necessary for the acquisition will be provided under a credit facility entered into with Commerzbank AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Dresdner Bank AG, Morgan Stanley International Limited and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc. The credit facility will be refinanced through a combination of a capital increase in an amount of Euro 1,4 to 1,8 billion, hybrid capital (1,2 to 1,6 Euro billion), the issue of bonds, bank loans and the divestment of selected activities. It is Linde's intention to maintain an investment grade rating for the combined group.

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2006/6/6 Linde

European Commission approves Linde’s acquisition of BOC

The European Commission has approved the acquisition by Linde AG, Wiesbaden, of The BOC Group plc, Windlesham, UK. The approval is subject to certain conditions. The conditions require the divestiture of Linde’s gas business in the UK, BOC’s gas activities in Poland and contracts with Linde’s ethylene oxide customers in the UK and Ireland. These divestitures correspond to a sales volume of approximately 160 million euros.

In addition, Linde committed to transfer certain contracts with helium suppliers and to sever, to an extent agreed with the Commission, joint ventures between BOC and Air Liquide in the Asia/Pacific region, either by selling BOC’s shareholding or by acquiring Air Liquide’s shareholding.

“The approval from the European Commission is a key step towards a merger with BOC,” confirmed Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle, President and CEO of Linde AG. “We expect the transaction to be closed in the course of the third quarter of 2006. The extent of the Commission’s conditions is in line with our expectations and we will comply promptly with these conditions.”

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2006/7/18 Linde

U.S. Federal Trade Commission clears Linde’s proposed acquisition of BOC

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cleared the proposed acquisition by Linde AG, Wiesbaden, of The BOC Group plc, Windlesham, UK.
The clearance is subject to certain divestitures to address FTC concerns relating to atmospheric gases and wholesale bulk liquid helium. As a condition to FTC clearance, Linde has agreed to divest eight air separation units in the United States. It has also agreed to divest three liquid helium purchase agreements with suppliers in the United States, Russia, and Poland as well as associated assets. These divestitures correspond to a sales volume of approximately 180 million euro in the year ended December 31, 2005.

"We are pleased to confirm that each of the pre-conditions to the making of the Offer has now been satisfied," said Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle, President and CEO of Linde AG. "This is a milestone on our way towards the merger with BOC. We will swiftly take the next steps to implement the transaction and look forward to our joint integration process with BOC."

The Offer to the BOC shareholders will shortly be launched, by means of the posting of the scheme document. The consent of the High Court to the despatch of the scheme document has been obtained. Completion of the Offer is expected in September 2006.

Teknor Apex 　　　http://www.teknorapex.com/

　Teknor Apex Acquires Chem Polymer

Teknor Apex to begin compounding in Europe

　Teknor Apex Purchases Singapore Polymer Corporation, Leading Thermoplastics Compounder in Asia-Pacific

　Teknor Apex opens Suzhou Plant to supply Chinese processors with full range of compounds

Teknor Apex Company is a privately-held company founded in 1924 and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Our seven divisions and two subsidiaries employ over 2000 people in 10 locations in the United States, one in Singapore, and one in the United Kingdom.

The Vinyl Division of Teknor Apex is one of the world's leading suppliers of specialty PVC compounds.

The Thermoplastic Elastomer Division of Teknor Apex has built its worldwide TPE leadership on more than 75 years experience with flexible and elastomeric polymers.
Headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Teknor Apex also operates thermoplastic elastomer facilities in St. Albans, Vermont; Brownsville, Tennessee; Henderson, Kentucky; and in Singapore.

With strategically located plants across North America and one in Singapore, Teknor Color Company provides colorants for the plastics industry worldwide. We offer a full line of custom and standard colors and additives as well as special effects for all processes.

Chem Polymer is an engineering thermoplastics compounder which produces reinforced, filled and specially modified compounds of nylon 6 and 66, acetal, PBT and PET for automotive, appliance, electrical, electronic and other applications.

Teknor Specialty Compounding is a diversified toll and custom manufacturer of thermoplastic compounds and additive blends. We are a resource for customers requiring an independent, confidential provider of production capacity, formulating experience and process expertise.

Singapore Polymer Corporation

December 31, 2004　 Teknor Apex

Teknor Apex Acquires Chem Polymer, International Supplier of Engineering Plastics Compounds with Plants in UK and USA

Teknor Apex Company today purchased the UK and US engineering thermoplastics compounding businesses of Chem Polymer, which is a leading supplier to customers throughout Europe and the Americas and has a growing presence in Asia. Chem Polymer will operate under its existing management as a distinct entity within Teknor Apex, retaining the Chem Polymer name and a workforce of 150.

Until now a member of the UK-based Chem Polymer Group (formerly BIP Group), Chem Polymer produces reinforced, filled, and specially modified compounds of nylon 6 and 66, acetal, PBT, and PET for automotive, appliance, electrical, electronic, and other applications. It operates two plants in the UK and one in the USA, with combined annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons (66,000,000 lb.).

Oct. 23,2006 PLASTICS NEWS

Teknor Apex to begin compounding in Europe

Teknor Apex Co., a U.S.-based compounder of specialty PVC, thermoplastic elastomers and color concentrates, plans to start a European TPE compounding operation in 2008, officials said at Fakuma 2006.

Teknor Apex plans to install a small compounding operation next year in the Oldbury, England, factory of Chem Polymer, according to Andre Toczek, sales and marketing manager of the European operation.

Teknor officials have not decided the location of the full-scale TPE production, although Oldbury is one option, Toczek said Oct. 19 at the show.

January 9, 2007 RTP

RTP Company Announces Long Fiber Thermoplastics Availability at China Facility

RTP Company, a global leader in specialty compounds, has added multiple long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (LFRT) production lines at its Suzhou, China manufacturing facility. The long glass fiber compounds are based on various resin systems including nylon and polypropylene.

“The new LFRT lines will support our rapidly-growing automotive and industrial customer base in China along with offering long fiber technology to other markets for applications requiring higher strength at lighter weights,” said Joe Kluck, Executive Vice President at RTP Company.

RTP Company’s 16,000 square meter (170,000 square feet) manufacturing plant in Suzhou, China was opened in December 2005. The state-of-the-art facility offers a full complement of customer support, product development, and technical service.

RTP Company significantly expanded its LFRT capabilities earlier this year with the opening of a long fiber facility near its Winona, Minnesota headquarters. RTP Company also installed additional long fiber lines at several of its worldwide operations in 2006 and introduced a broader long fiber product offering.

Long Fiber Compounds are often used to replace metals and consequently have become one of the fastest-growing materials in the thermoplastic industry. They offer excellent mechanical properties and their high strength-to-weight ratios result in parts that can withstand heavy loads over long periods of time, even in elevated temperatures.

ABOUT RTP COMPANY
RTP Company, headquartered in Winona, Minnesota, is a global leader in specialty thermoplastic compounding. The company has eight manufacturing plants on three continents, plus sales representatives throughout North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific. RTP Company's engineers develop and produce custom compounds in over 60 different engineering resin systems for applications requiring color, conductivity, flame retardancy, high temperature, structural, elastomeric and wear resistant properties.

2007/4/23 Platts

Mexico's PVC producer Mexichem eyes takeover of Pemex's VCM plant

Mexico City-based chemicals group, Mexichem, whose recent acquisitions have made it the biggest producer of PVC in Latin America, aims to break a production bottleneck by taking control of state Pemex's VCM plant, Enrique Ortega, Mexichem's investor relations manager said Monday.

"We supply the plant with 90% of the chlorine it uses and buy 70% of its VCM output," Ortega told Platts. "It's natural that we would want to acquire it and the law allows us to do so." VCM is classified as a secondary petrochemical to which Pemex's state monopoly does not apply.


The Pajaritos VCM plant has been a thorn in Mexichem's flesh for some time. In 2002, Pemex announced the award to Spain's Duro Felguera of a $74 million contract for an expansion of the plant's capacity from 200,000 metric tons/year to 405,000 mt/year. The expansion project took much longer than programmed, forcing Mexichem and others to import VCM in the meanwhile, and the expansion of production capacity appears to have fallen far short of target. Last year the plant produced 209,000 mt/year of VCM.

In February, Mexichem announced the acquisition of two Latin American companies -- Costa Rica-based Grupo Amanco, which makes PVC piping for water systems, and Petroquimica Colombiana (Petco), a Colombia-based producer of PVC resins. The addition of Amanco and Petco to Mexichem's fast-growing portfolio of affiliates should double the group's revenues to $2.4 billion this year, Ortega said.

2007/5/8 Clariant

Clariant sells Custom Manufacturing Business to International Chemical Investors Group

Clariant today announced the sale of its Custom Manufacturing Business to International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) for an undisclosed transaction value. The sale is the latest step in Clariant’s strategy to focus on its core competencies in colors, surfaces and performance chemicals.
Clariant’s Customer Manufacturing Business supplies a wide range of intermediates and actives ingredients for the agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and polymers industries. At closing, the new autonomous entity will be one of the world’s leading suppliers to the agrochemicals industry with production sites in Germany and the US. In 2006, the Custom

About International Chemical Investors
International Chemical Investors is an investment group focusing on mid-sized chemical businesses, preferably subsidiaries of large corporations, which are considered non-core, with leading positions in niche markets, operating in competitive environments. Including the newly acquired Clariant businesses, ICIG will operate 14 production facilities located in Germany, the United States, France, Belgium, Ireland and Poland with total sales of close to Euro 500 million and more than 2,500 employees.

July 9, 2007 　Bloomberg

CVC to Buy Chemical Seller Univar for EU1.52 Billion

CVC Capital Partners Ltd. agreed to buy Univar NV of the Netherlands for 1.52 billion euros ($2.07 billion) to gain the largest distributor of chemicals in the U.S.

Europe's No. 2 buyout firm will purchase Univar for 53.50 euros a share, the companies said in a statement today. That's 37 percent more than Friday's closing price for Univar, which buys bulk chemicals and then sells them to 250,000 industrial users.

CVC's bid comes less than three months after Rotterdam- based Univar bought Chemcentral Corp. of Illinois to boost U.S. sales 40 percent. London-based CVC said it backs expansion in the world's biggest economy, which grew at its slowest pace since the end of 2002 in the first quarter, and also plans to fund further acquisitions in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Univar has 8,000 employees and more than 200 chemical- distribution centers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia, it said in the statement. The majority of the company's products are commodity chemicals bought in bulk and then processed, blended and sold to clients in industries ranging from agriculture and drugs to forestry, food and electronics.

CVC is investing 10 billion euros it has amassed in the past two years. The Univar deal comes five days after the 800 million-euro purchase of Taminco NV, a Belgian maker of chemical ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry. Dutch investment firm AlpInvest Partners NV sold Taminco in an auction.

CVC was founded in 1981 as Citicorp's European private- equity arm before its managers bought their independence in 1993. Run by Michael Smith, who joined from Citibank in 1982, the firm has about $24 billion of funds. It already owns more than 40 companies with more than 300,000 employees and revenue in excess of 38.5 billion euros, according to its Web site.

2007/10/10 Hexcel

Hexcel to build prepreg facility in China

Hexcel Corporation, in conjunction with Tianjin Xeda Administrative Committee, has today announced further details of its plans to build a new prepreg plant in China.  The new facility is intended to meet the strong demand for composites used in wind turbines.  China is experiencing major growth in its wind energy market and the country plans to double the amount of energy it obtains from renewable sources by 2020; a strategy that will require a major increase in the number of wind power plants in the country.

With the support of Xeda, Hexcel has secured a total floor area of 30 000m2 site in Tianjin, close to the facilities of major wind power customers. The plant building area will occupy approximately 8,000m2 and manufacture HexPly® epoxy resin prepregs, primarily for wind energy and industrial applications.  Production at the new facility will commence in summer 2008.

Prepreg is fiber-reinforced resin system that cures under heat and pressure to produce structures with a very high strength to weight ratio.  Prepreg is widely used in the wind energy industry where its outstanding strength and low weight have enabled turbine blades to grow to today’s giant proportions.

HexPly® prepregs are specially formulated resin matrix systems, that are reinforced with man-made fibers such as carbon, glass and aramid.  When cured at elevated temperatures, the themoset resin undergoes a chemical reaction that transforms the prepreg into a solid structural material that is highly durable, temperature resistant, exceptionally stiff and lightweight.

November 8 2007 Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto rejects approach from BHP Billiton

Rio Tinto notes the recent announcement from BHP Billiton involving a proposed acquisition of Rio Tinto. Under this proposal each Rio Tinto share would be exchanged for three BHP Billiton shares.

The Boards of Rio Tinto have given the proposal careful consideration and concluded that it significantly undervalues Rio Tinto and its prospects. Accordingly, the Boards have unanimously rejected the proposal as not being in the best interests of shareholders.

Rio Tinto will continue to focus on the implementation of its well articulated strategy, including integrating Alcan operations. 

A merger would create a base metals colossus with powerful positions in coking coal, iron ore, copper and aluminium. BHP's offer - three BHP shares for every Rio share, which values the bid at more than $140 billion on current prices - was rejected by Rio at a board meeting held earlier this week to consider the proposal. Rio shares gained 956p, or 22 per cent, to £52.96 in response to news of BHP's interest, while BHP fell 100p, or 5.6 per cent, to £16.56.

Steel lobby to urge EU to ban Rio Tinto/BHP merger

2008/2/29 Albemarle 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　BASF interested in acquiring Albemarle

Albemarle to Expand Antioxidant Production in China

Strategic move will further strengthen position in the China plastics additives marketplace

Albemarle Corporation, a leading global supplier of antioxidants for polymers, lubricants, fuels and biofuels, announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a project to more than double the antioxidant production capacity of Shanghai Jinhai Albemarle Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd., part of the "Jinhai Albemarle" manufacturing joint venture in which Albemarle gained a majority ownership stake last year.

This strategic expansion will allow Jinhai Albemarle to maintain its market position as the leading manufacturer and supplier of polymer antioxidants in China.

2008/6/22 polymer-age.co.uk

Cabot to manufacture in the Middle East

Carbon black masterbatch producer Cabot Corporation is to start making masterbatch in the Arabian Gulf. It is to build a plant in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai with an initial capacity of 25,000 tonnes with provision to expand to 75,000 tonnes.

Output from the plant will be sold in the Middle East, Europe and Asia Pacific. The key markets for black masterbatch are in PE and PP compounds for building infrastructure, water supply, electricity, and telecommunications.

By 2010 the Middle East is expected to produce one-fifth of the world's polyethylene and polypropylene.

2008/5/28 Cabot

Cabot Corporation to Build Masterbatch Facility in Dubai

Cabot Corporation announced today that it intends to build a carbon black masterbatch manufacturing facility in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai. The plant will have an initial production capacity of 25,000 tons per year with provision to expand to 75,000 tons in the future. Cabot has secured a plot of land and construction will begin later this calendar year, with production scheduled to start in the fall of 2009.

The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will include the latest environmental and manufacturing technologies to ensure production of high-quality masterbatch products. Laboratories, administration offices, production and packaging will all be located within the building.

The Dubai plant will allow Cabot to better meet the increasing demand of its customers in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions. In recent years, the Middle East has become a major producer of polyolefins and downstream compounds and by 2010 is expected to produce one-fifth of the world's polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

Cabot Vice President and General Manager for the Performance Segment, Sean Keohane said, "Within the Middle East there is already strong demand for PE and PP compounds for use in building infrastructure for water supply, electricity, and telecommunications projects. These are key markets for carbon black masterbatch. This new site will offer significant quality and service advantages to Middle East producers who are global exporters of masterbatch compounds."