MOSCOW (MRC) -- Axiall has signed a definitive agreement to sell its La Porte, Texas, chemical manufacturing facility to Altivia Chemicals, officials announced on Thursday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Financial terms of the agreement, which is subject to customary closing processes, were not announced. The transaction is expected to close within 45 days.
The Axiall facility at La Porte manufactures phosgene and its derivatives, which are used in the polymer, pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals industries. It is the largest North American production facility of merchant phosgene derivatives, including chloroformates and acid chlorides.
"As we refine our portfolio, we are pleased to reach an agreement with ALTIVIA, where we believe our phosgene business will be a better strategic fit," said Axiall CEO Paul Carrico. "Axiall will provide transition services to ALTIVIA to help its experienced management team achieve a smooth assumption of the business."
Altivia Specialty Chemicals, headquartered in Houston, is an experienced manufacturer and distributor of chemicals used primarily for municipal and industrial water treatment, oil field drilling and production operations, and pulp and paper production.
In 2012, the company expanded its specialty chemicals line with the addition of ferric and ferrous sulfate to its portfolio. It also recently added aluminum chlorohydrate to its product line to broaden its coagulant offerings and expand into new applications with aluminum-based chemistry.
As MRC informed previously, Axiall and Korean firm Lotte Chemical had decided to defer a final investment decision on a USD2 billion ethane cracker in Westlake, La. Via the American Press, Axiall CEO Paul Carrico said uncertainty in U.S. energy, feedstock and labor markets drove the decision.
Axiall is a chemical company formed in 2012 from the chemical assets of PPG and Georgia Gulf. The PPG products are primarily chlor-alkali. The combined companies will be the third largest producer of chlor-alkali in the US after Dow Chemical and Occidental. PPG will own 50.5% of the combined companies. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
MRC