Trinseo launches its IPO of USD10 m of its ordinary shares

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global manufacturer of specialty polymers and plastics, announced terms for its IPO, said the company in tis press release.

The company was founded in 2010 when Bain Capital bought Dow Chemical's Styron business unit for USD1.6 billion. The Berwyn, PA-based company plans to raise USD180 million by offering 10.0 million shares at a price range of USD17 to USD19. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Trinseo would command a market value of USD851 million. Trinseo originally filed to go public in June 2011 intending to raise up to USD400 million, but withdrew in June 2013.

Trinseo, which booked USD5.3 billion in sales for the 12 months ended March 31, 2014, plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol TSE. Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Jefferies are the joint bookrunners on the deal.

Styron previously announced plans to change the name of all Styron affiliated companies to Trinseo. Some, but not all, of the Styron companies have completed the name change process and are currently known as Trinseo; Styron companies that have not completed this process will continue to do business as Styron until their respective name changes are complete. Styron's operating companies also continue to do business as Styron at this time. Styron had approximately USD5.3 billion in net sales in 2013, with 19 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,100 employees.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo’s 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Graffiti, lettering and stickers can turn public property into eyesores. To fight this problem, BASF’s Coatings division has developed the RELEST Powder PUR Anti-Sticker coating, said the company in its press release.

The product’s anti-stick surface prevents soiling and reduces cleaning costs. It was specially developed for coating light poles, traffic signal poles and circuit breaker panel boxes.

"RELEST Powder PUR Anti-Sticker’s slightly roughened surface offers anti-graffiti properties. Stickers do not adhere properly to the surface and graffiti can be removed more easily," explained BASF product manager Miriam Belke. The product also features high weathering resistance, scratch resistance and very high chemical resistance.

Eurocoatings GmbH, a service provider for surface technology based in Werl, Germany, is the first company to use the anti-stick coating. "Using the powder coating on light poles offers outstanding protection from soiling and corrosion, and is a valuable addition to our portfolio," explained CEO Klaus Merckx.

BASF supplies powder coating systems under the product name RELEST Powder. The systems can be used for an array of applications, for example, for plant and machine construction, for garden fences and for facade construction. These systems stand out for their low material loss during coating. BASF has developed a broad portfolio of raw materials for coatings destined for the paints, construction, furniture and flooring coatings as well as automotive and industrial coatings industries.

BASF’s Coatings division develops, produces and markets innovative automotive coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. We operate sites in Europe, North America and South America as well as Asia Pacific. Within this network, we collaborate closely with our customers all over the world. In 2013, the Coatings division achieved global sales of EUR2.9 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi petrochemicals industry is diversifying its feedstock mix and expanding its product slates to include more high value intermediates, said Saudigazette.

BMI has said that this is essential as Saudi Arabia bans imports of natural gas and its pricing structure for domestic supplies has reduced the financial incentive to explore for it.

Foreign companies have formed joint ventures with state oil firm Saudi Aramco to seek out gas deposits, but over the past 10 years they have largely failed to find commercially viable deposits. Authorities in Saudi Arabia now reportedly want to focus on the search for unconventional deposits that would require more complex and expensive technologies.

However, this rise in gas extraction costs, is expected by BMI, to increase the cost of production and undermine the industry’s competitiveness against the new threat of shale based US production.

BMI expects that Saudi Arabia will remain a robust market for petrochemicals goods, providing the basis for growth in downstream conversion sectors. In terms of the domestic market, the country is likely to remain relatively large and dynamic by Arabian Gulf standards.

Meanwhile, when it comes to petrochemicals in the UAE, BMI has said the availability of naphtha will be boosted by refinery expansion at Ruwais, helping the Emirati industry’s competitive edge and enable it to produce a wider range of products.

Also, the report said has said the global packaging market, which is a major polymer consumer, will play an important role in the industry’s growth outlook.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) --The short-term outlook for the Turkish petrochemicals industry is challenging, with the depreciation of the lira and the rising cost of credit dampening domestic demand, but export growth and low stocks should help lift demand in H214, said Balkans, citing Turkey Petrochemicals Report Q3 2014.

The pace of polymers growth will be partly determined by the strength of the export-oriented automotive sector as well as the domestic construction industry. Although we have revised down 2014 GDP growth forecast for Turkey from 2.6% to 1.5% and the lira may not have ended its depreciatory run, there are upsides.

Demand for major polymers declined in Turkey owing to the fall in domestic currency in the first few months of 2014. A few domestic polyethylene converters have suspended production lines and major domestic petrochemicals producer Petkim has stopped producing at full capacity due to payment issues prompted by an interest rate hike. BMI believes this trend will be reversed through H214 as stocks are depleted and orders increase.

Local producer Petkim has been able to counter a decline in sales by successfully reducing costs through cuts and efficiency savings, while running plants at an overall capacity utilisation rate of around 83%. As a result, while its revenue declined 4.4%, its net income nearly doubled to TRY49mn.

As MRC wrote previously, Petkim together with its key owner, Socar plans to transform Aliaga into an industrial cluster. The transformation has several positive effects on Petkim. Star refinery, Petlim and Petkojen projects are the key earnings drivers. Among these initiatives, the building of Star refinery by Socar-Turcas, the container port project Petlim and co-generation plant project Petkojen are the key additions. Star refinery allows Petkim to receive feedstock at lower cost and better quality. Petlim utilizes the port area belonging to the company more efficiently. Petkojen lowers the overall energy cost of the company by turning the boilers to dual mode.

Petkim is the leading petrochemical company of Turkey. Specializing in petrochemical manufacturing, the company produces ethylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and other chemical building blocks for use in the manufacture of plastics, textiles, and other consumer and industrial products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's state-owned Sinopec said Wednesday it has signed a pact with Kuwait Petroleum Co to enhance cooperation in the oil sector, including refining, said Apic-online.

Sinopec, or China Petrochemical Corp., said the deal was signed in Beijing in the presence of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah.

Sinopec said both companies will continue to deepen cooperation in crude oil trading, crude reserves storage, refinery projects and refinery engineering services. No other details were provided.

The new deal indicates both sides could be reviving stalled talks for a joint venture refinery in Zhanjiang in China's southern Guangdong province.

Sinopec last said in its 2013 annual earnings statement issued late March that the 15 million mt/year Zhanjiang refinery would be delayed by a year to 2017. The plant will include an 800,000 mt/year ethylene unit and a 300,000 mt/year jetty.

Sinopec and KPC's overseas arm, Kuwait Petroleum International, had signed a joint venture agreement for the refinery in June 2011, following over five years of talks.

Sinopec was to hold a 50% stake in the refinery, and KPI the remaining 50%, although the Kuwaiti company had indicated its desire to farm out a 20% interest to a third partner.

The plan was for the USD9 billion refinery to run on Kuwaiti crude. Since 2012 however, there has been little update on the equity sharing in the project and sources have previously said KPI's interest was waning and it was not clear if the company was still involved. Sinopec has also made no mention of KPI's involvement in its updates in the last two years.
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