PPG Industries finalizes USD2.3 bln purchase of Mexican Comex

MOSCOW (MRC) - U.S. chemicals maker PPG Industries Inc said on Wednesday it had formally finalized its acquisition of Mexican paints maker Consorcio Comex for USD2.3 billion, said Reuters.

The Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries said it had received a favorable ruling from Mexico's competition watchdog to complete the purchase, which came after the Mexican company's deal to sell to U.S. rival Sherwin-Williams Co fell through.

Mexico's federal competition authority twice rejected Sherwin-Williams' proposed USD2.34 billion takeover offer for Comex last year, saying it would create unfair market conditions.

"We're happy to have completed this acquisition, which is the second largest in the history of our company," Charles Bunch, PPG Industries' chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The purchase of the privately held Comex is the latest in a string of Latin American investments PPG has made in recent months.

As MRC wrote before, PPG Industries Inc. PPG said its third-quarter earnings rose 64% amid broad sales growth across its main business segments. The Pittsburgh company has turned to acquisitions as part of its efforts to transform itself into a company focused more on paints and coatings.

PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) is a global supplier of protective and decorative coatings. Performance Coatings, Industrial Coatings and Architectural Coatings- EMEA segments supply protective and decorative finishes for customers in a range of end use markets, including industrial equipment, appliances and packaging; factory-finished aluminum extrusions and steel and aluminum
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Effective on 5, November, or as contracts allow, BASF is increasing prices for the majority of products in its additives and stabilizers portfolio for plastic applications as well as for several light stabilizers for coating applications by up to 10%, said the company.

Price adjustments are a response to increasing costs. They also reflect the commitment to sustainable business standards. Price increases will apply to the following product classes:
Antioxidants and Process Stabilizers
Light Stabilizers and other Plastic Additives
Light Stabilizers for coating applications

As MRC wrote before, sales of BASF Group grew in Q3 2014 by 3% compared with the previous third quarter, reaching EUR18.3 billion. EBIT grew by EUR128 million to EUR1.8 billion compared with the third quarter of the previous year. EBITDA rose by EUR30 million to EUR2.5 billion. Income before taxes and minority interests increased by EUR126 million quarter-on-quarter to EUR1.6 billion. Because of the higher tax rate and increased minority interests, net income declined by EUR53 million to EUR1.0 billion.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lanxess AG is seeking 150 million euros (USD188 million) in annual savings from the end of 2016 as Chief Executive Officer Matthias Zachert puts the chemical maker through the most extensive revamp since its inception a decade ago, said Bloomberg.

In a first step, 1,000 jobs equal to 6% of the workforce will be cut in administration, marketing and research by the end of 2016, the Cologne, Germany-based company said today. A second phase starting this month will look for savings in sales and supply chains as well as production over the next two years.

Zachert, who has been in the top job for seven months, is combining units and seeking alliances to reduce the company’s dependence on the auto and tire industries. The producer of synthetic rubber is making rapid progress with its restructuring program and expects savings of 20 million euros as soon as this year, it said today.

The final phase of the restructuring program will focus on alliances in the rubber business, to be implemented in 2015 and 2016, Lanxess said today. The company could enter a joint venture with another synthetic-rubber producer or tie-up with a raw-material supplier, it said.

LyondellBasell Industries NV would be the most obvious partner for an alliance because it has all the key raw materials that Lanxess needs for synthetic rubber, Jaideep Pandya, an analyst at Berenberg Bank, said in a note to investors earlier this week.

A commercial alliance with an Asian company such as South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. or Sinopec, whose full name is China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., would give Lanxess the flexibility to close capacity in Europe and cut costs, Pandya said.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and exceptional items rose 12% to 210 million euros in the third quarter, Lanxess said today. Sales declined 0.5% to 2.04 billion euros. Both figures are in line with analyst estimates.

Exceptional charges of 150 million euros are expected through the end of 2016 for the revamp. Lanxess is sticking to a full-year profit goal of 780 million euros to 820 million euros.

As MRC wrote previously, last summer, German specialty chemicals company Lanxess celebrated the opening of its first production facility in Russia. In the new plant at the Lipetsk site, Lanxess subsidiary Rhein Chemie manufactures polymer-bound rubber additives for the markets in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), primarily for the automotive and tire industries. A production facility for the bladders used in tire production is to be added in 2016. The overall investment volume in euros amounts to a seven-digit figure and 40 new jobs will be created at the new plant in the medium term.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,000 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) said one of its affiliates will shut a methanol plant for around three weeks for maintenance and some repairs, said Downstreamtoday.

The shutdown, which will start on Wednesday, will boost efficiency and production, Sipchem said in a bourse filing. As a result of the outage, Sipchem will incur losses of 35 million riyals (USD9.3 million) which will be reflected in the fourth-quarter financial results.

The company has taken precautions to alleviate the impact of the shutdown on its customers, it said.

The unit in question, International Methanol Company (IMC), is 65% owned by Sipchem while a group of Japanese companies hold the rest.

It has an annual production of 967,000 tonnes of methanol, according to Sipchem's website.

As MRC wrote before, Sipchem reported net profit of SR473.8 million for the nine months ended September 30 this year, representing 11.82% increase over the same period of last year. The increase in net profit during nine months of 2014 is due to increase in some of company’s products prices. Earnings per share was SR 1.29 compared with SR 1.15 per share for the same period last year.

Established in 1999, Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) manufactures and markets methanol, butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, vinyl acetate monomer. Besides, it has launched several down-stream projects to manufacture ethylene vinyl acetate, low density polyethylene, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, cross linkable polyethylene, and semi conductive compound that are scheduled to start in 2013.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has started operations at its state-of-the-art vehicle refinishes plant in Changzhou, China - the company's 30th manufacturing facility in the country, as per the company's press release.

The new factory adds around 25 million liters of capacity for Sikkens, Lesonal and Prime vehicle refinishes products and strengthens AkzoNobel’s position as one of the leading players in China's vehicle refinishes and commercial vehicle OEM markets, building on its acquisition of Changzhou Prime Automotive Ltd. in 2010.

"The Changzhou site is designed to help us meet rapidly increasing customer demand, not only from domestic suppliers, but also from our global automotive customers that have business in China," explained Simon Parker, Managing Director of AkzoNobel’s Vehicle Refinishes business.

He added that the Chinese vehicle refinishes market is worth around EUR750 million and has been growing at around 10% a year. "Changzhou is the ideal location for this facility," continued Parker. "A good infrastructure is already in place and it is ideally situated in the coatings 'center' of China, with close access to many of our customers."

As MRC informed previously, AkzoNobel completed the sale of its Primary Amides chemicals business to PMC Group effective December 31, 2013. Under the terms of the agreement, a manufacturing facility in Kyungju, South Korea, and all 37 employees will transfer to PMC Group with immediate effect, along with the erucamide, oleamide and other primary and secondary amides sold under the Armoslip trade names. The sale follows a review of the business' fit within AkzoNobel's Functional Chemicals portfolio, where it operated as a standalone activity

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people. AkzoNobel currently employs more than 8,000 people in China. Revenues totaled EUR1.6 billion in 2013, with the majority being generated from local demand.
MRC