AkzoNobel to acquire Romanian paint producer Fabryo

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Fabryo Corporation S.R.L. (Fabryo), becoming the leader in the Romanian decorative paints market, as per the company's press release.

The transaction includes two production facilities and six distribution centers for decorative paints, adhesives and mortars, including one of the largest decorative paints factories in the region, with capacity for further expansion.

The business generated revenue of around €45 million in 2017 and is the only player with both a leading product portfolio for consumers as well as professional segments in the Romanian market, including brands Savana, APLA and InnenWeiss.

Thierry Vanlancker, CEO of AkzoNobel, said: "This acquisition provides AkzoNobel with the number one position in a fast growing market and will contribute to delivering our Winning Together: 15 by 20 Strategy. Fabryo has a proven track record when it comes to growth and profitability. We are very happy to add top brands like Savana, APLA and InnenWeiss to our world class portfolio and look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to AkzoNobel."

Ruud Joosten, COO of AkzoNobel, added: "We are very excited about the acquisition of Fabryo; a strong market leader for decorative paints in Romania led by an excellent team. Savana is the number one decorative paints brand among Romanian consumers. The strong sales and distribution capabilities of Fabryo will help us to further improve our business in the region, leveraging our combined resources and expertise, and strengthen our position as the leading paints and coatings company in Europe."

The planned transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018, subject to regulatory approval.

As MRC informed before, in December 2016, AkzoNobel finalized the acquisition of BASF’s global Industrial Coatings business, which supplies a range of products for industries including construction, domestic appliances, wind energy and commercial transport, strengthening its position as the global number one supplier in coil coatings. The transaction includes relevant technologies, patents and trademarks, as well as two manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Approximately 400 employees from BASF’s Industrial Coatings business join AkzoNobel, bringing expertise to innovate and serve an expanded customer base worldwide.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell Industries NV and Odebrecht SA, the controlling owner of petrochemicals producer Braskem, said on Friday they have entered into exclusive talks for Lyondell to acquire control of Braskem, and two people familiar with the matter said the companies are planning a cash and shares deal that could top USD9 billion, as per Reuters.

LyondellBasell and Odebrecht expect to reach a final deal in two months, but there is no deadline yet for LyondellBasell to deliver a binding proposal, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the terms publicly.

The sources said Odebrecht expects a premium over Braskem’s market capitalization, which was 33.2 billion reais (USD8.93 billion) as of Thursday’s market close.

Once LyondellBasell and Odebrecht reach an agreement on price, the acquirer will extend the same terms for the stake owned by state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA), known as Petrobras, Braskem’s No. 2 shareholder, according to the sources.

Petrobras previously said it planned to divest fully from its stake in Braskem.

While Odebrecht is angling for a minority stake in LyondellBasell, the deal may be structured so that Petrobras may receive an all-cash offer if it wishes to, the sources said, adding that minority shareholders will also receive a tender offer.Braskem shares soared 19 percent in Sao Paulo, lifting its market cap to 37.7 billion reais.

LyondellBasell and privately held Odebrecht declined to comment on details of the deal. Petrobras said in a filing it had been informed of talks.

Most of LyondellBasell’s 55 plants are in the United States, Europe and Asia — a footprint complementary to that of Braskem, which has 29 plants in Brazil, five in the United States, four in Mexico and two in Germany.

During the exclusive negotiations, LyondellBasell will examine Braskem’s long-term naphtha supply contract with Petrobras, which is set to expire in 2020.

Odebrecht recently pledged its 38 percent stake in Braskem as collateral on loans, and part of the proceeds from a deal may go to paying debt, so the conglomerate’s creditors will have to agree to the sale, the sources said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- McDonald’s announced a phased rollout of paper straws in all 1,361 McDonald’s restaurants in the UK and Ireland with completion set for 2019 as well as plans to test alternatives to plastic straws in multiple markets throughout the globe later this year, as per the cpmpany's press release.

McDonald’s UK and Ireland will begin transitioning to paper straws in all of its restaurants starting in September. This move supports McDonald’s goal to source 100% of guest packaging from renewable, recycled, or certified sources by 2025 and to have guest packaging recycling in all restaurants globally.

"McDonald’s is committed to using our scale for good and working to find sustainable solutions for plastic straws globally," said Francesca DeBiase Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain and Sustainability. "In addition to the exciting news from the UK today, we are testing straw alternatives in other countries to provide the best experience for our customers. We hope this work will support industry wide change and bring sustainable solutions to scale."

In addition to tests that began earlier this year in the UK, McDonald’s has also begun testing alternatives to plastic straws in Belgium. Later this year, McDonald’s will begin testing alternatives in select restaurants in the U.S., France, Sweden, Norway and Australia. In addition to testing alternative materials, in several markets including Malaysia, we will begin tests to offer straws upon request only. We are eager to learn from these tests around the world to develop solutions that are scalable across the globe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco Technologies Company, a subsidiary of the world’s largest oil company, and Siluria Technologies, a leader in disruptive process technologies for the petrochemical and energy industries have executed a multi-plant technology license for the integration of Siluria’s proprietary technology (natural gas to olefins) with Saudi Aramco’s high-olefins cracking process technology, as per GlobeNewsWire.

Siluria’s natural gas-to-olefins technology, based on oxidative coupling of methane chemistry, is available for license in stand-alone configurations, as well as integration within a wide range of existing process plants; including steam crackers, propane dehydrogenation units, oil refineries, and methanol plants. By integrating Siluria’s technology with existing facilities, operators can upgrade their methane-containing by-product streams from fuel to chemical value, improving carbon efficiency and production rates.

Robert Trout, Siluria’s President and CEO said, "Converting methane containing off-gases to higher value chemicals adds meaningful economic value, while plant integration can deliver excellent capital efficiencies. We are thrilled to be working with a company like Aramco towards some of the largest and most technologically advanced petrochemical facilities the industry has ever seen."

"As we engage more customers around the world, our clients are helping to discover new and exciting ways in which our technologies can be used to improve the economics, operability, and environmental footprint of their existing process plants," added Trout.

Ahmad Al Khowaiter, Chief Technology Officer of Saudi Aramco commented, "Maximizing the output of high-value chemicals products from our future crude oil processing projects is one of the key objectives in our downstream technology strategy."

He continued, "We see a strong fit with Siluria’s "gas to olefins" technology in certain plant configurations, and look forward to collaborating further with Siluria to realize the value of these processes."

As MRC wrote before, Saudi Aramco and France's Total are considering building a mixed-feed cracker and derivatives in Jubail, near their joint refining complex. The cracker is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 MMtpy.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SP Chemicals is likely to shut its No.1 vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant for maintenance, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has planned to take its the plant off-stream in early-August, 2018. The plant is slated to remian under maintenance for around one month.

Located at Taixing in Jiangsu province of China, the No. 1 plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, SP Chemicals undertook a planned shutdown at its styrene monomer (SM) plant at Jiangsu on November 6, 2017. The plant remained under maintenance for about 4 weeks. Located at Taixing in Jiangsu province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 320,000 mt/year.

SP Chemicals, a Singapore-based company is one of the largest ion-membrane chlor-alkali producer and aniline producer in the PRC. SP Chemicals engages in the manufacture and sale of the chemical industry's basic building blocks - caustic soda, chlorine, hydrogen and its related downstream products. The company's products include: aniline, caustic soda, chlorine, chlorobenzene, nitrochlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). To further drive its growth, SP Chemicals plans to invest approximately RMB1.1 billion in facilities for the production of styrene monomer, an intermediate raw chemical used in making polystyrene plastics, protective coatings, polyesters and resins.
MRC