MOSCOW (MRC) -- Synthomer (Harlow, UK) has released a statement by its executive board following media reports of a potential USD3-billion bid for the business, saying it "confirms it is not in discussions regarding a possible offer for the company", said Chemweek.
The statement, which Synthomer says was issued following "press speculation," is in response to a Bloomberg report that private equity firm CVC Capital Partners was exploring a potential bid for Synthomer, according to "people with knowledge of the matter."
CVC was reported to have made an initial approach to Synthomer to gauge its interest in a deal, although the two parties were said to not be holding any negotiations. A representative for CVC declined to comment.
In January, Synthomer raised guidance for its full-year 2020 EBITDA earnings by 10% compared with its prior forecast, due mainly to a stronger trading performance in the fourth quarter. It also announced current CEO Calum MacLean intends to stand down as CEO by January 2022.
The company is scheduled to release its full-year results on 4 March.
As per MRC, Synthomer (Harlow, UK) says it decided to close its styrene-butadiene-rubber (SBR) production site at Oulu, Finland, by the end of the first quarter of 2021. The company confirmed in August that it was in a consultation process with employees at Oulu concerning future options for the facility.
We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% year on year, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-November 2020 output. November production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.
MRC