MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem is participating in the bidding to acquire the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) assets of Belgium's Solvay in South America, reported BNAmericas with reference to the company's filing with Brazilian stock market regulator CMV.
Braskem said the negotiations had not yet concluded and it could not say when they would be completed.
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.
Mexico's Mexichem and Braskem have been seen as the most likely suitors of the assets since Solvay announced its decision to sell them in February this year.
In a May filing to the Mexico City bourse (BMV), Mexichem confirmed it had made an offer to buy the PVC operations of a company based in Argentina and Brazil though it made no reference to Solvay Indupa.
Consultants have speculated that Mexichem could buy the Argentina assets and Braskem the assets in Brazil, although Solvay will likely want to offload the assets to one buyer.
Solvay CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu said in July that he expected to make an announcement about the sale "in the next few months."
PVC assets have a value of around USD500mn, according to market sources.
As MRC informed previously, in February 2013, Belgian-based 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 500,000mtpa 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.
MRC