All swap on the polymer front
24 Jan 2001
Solvay has signed a memorandum of understanding with BP that would lead to the transfer of Solvay's polypropylene (PP) business to BP and to the transfer of BP's engineering polymers business to Solvay.
The Memorandum has been approved by Solvay and the BP board of directors. The proposed transaction is subject to due diligence, to regulatory approval by the relevant authorities, as well as consultation with workers' representatives. Completion of the deal is expected to take place by June 2001.
In Europe, the two companies would combine their European high-density polyethylene (HDPE) businesses into a 50-50 joint venture, while in the US, the agreement would lead to Solvay and BP creating a 51-49 joint venture for Solvay's current HDPE business.
Solvay's existing high performance and engineering polymers business involves seven production units that are located in Tavaux (France), Rheinberg (Germany), Oudenaarde (Belgium), Roccabianca (Italy), Grand Prairie, Texas, Mansfield, Texas, and Decatur, Alabama.
Ranges of products includes copolymers made from polyvinylidene chloride (Ixan), a wide variety of polyvinylidene fluoride grades (Solef), reinforced polyarylamide-based compounds (Ixef) and polyphenylene sulfide (Primef) compounds, polypropylene elastomer compounds (Sequel) and crosslinked polyethylene compounds (Polydan).BP's engineering polymers business includes its thermoplastics and specialty polymers, known by the brand names of Udel , Radel , Amodel , Xydar , Torlon , and Kadel .
The polymers are characterised by high-temperature resistance and have applications in the automotive, aerospace, industrial, medical and electronics industries, among others. To be included in the engineering polymers transaction are manufacturing plants in Atlanta, Georgia; Augusta, Georgia; Marietta, Ohio; and Greenville South Carolina, and the business's headquarters and research and development centre in Alpharetta, Georgia. Also included in the transaction are technical and marketing operations located in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Japan.
