MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC and the Korean petrochemical company, SK Global Chemical, have successfully concluded negotiations for a 50-50 joint venture that will purchase the unique Nexlene solution technology and a plant that manufactures a range of high-performance Ethylene/Alpha-Olefin copolymers products in Ulsan, Republic of Korea, said SABIC.
The aggregate purchase price for the technology and plant is approximately US$640 mln. The closing of the deal on July 3, in Seoul was presided over by Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, Polymers Executive Vice President, and Hwa Youp Cha, SK Global Chemical CEO.
The joint venture holding company, SABIC SK Nexlene Company (SSNC) is headquartered in Singapore. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Korea Nexlene Company (KNC), owns the plant in Ulsan, which has an annual capacity of 230,000 tons. The parties intend to further expand capacity with the construction and operation of additional plants globally. The plant will produce metallocene based linear low-density polyethylene, polyolefin plastomers, and polyolefin elastomers to meet the growing needs of diverse industries such as flexible packaging, industrial and agricultural film, automotive, consumer products (footwear), medical, and construction.
As MRC informed earlier, both companies announced the future deal in June 2015.
The joint venture marks the latest SABIC investment in manufacturing capability in the Far East. With Nexlene, SABIC now has access to the most complete Polyethylene technology platforms within the petrochemical industry. SK Global Chemical is a pioneering petrochemical company in the Republic of Korea, being the first in the country to build a naphtha cracking facility in 1972. Through continuous facility investment, R&D and technological improvement, the company has maintained its position as the leader of the petrochemical industry in Korea.
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the worldпїЅs top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC