Business Concentrates MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
▸ Braskem denies LyondellBasell rumors Brazilian petrochemical maker Braskem denies it is in negotiations with LyondellBasell Industries. According to the Wall Street Journal, LyondellBasell approached Braskem about a takeover deal that could value the latter at more than $10 billion. Braskem says “it was not approached by LyondellBasell with any proposal for acquisition of its shares.” Furthermore, the Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht, which controls Braskem with a 38% stake, says it intends to keep its investment while also “working on alternatives to add value to Braskem.”—ALEX TULLO
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
▸ Ineos branches into clothing business With plans already in hand to build off-road vehicles, the British petrochemical firm Ineos says it is branching out again—this time by agreeing to acquire clothing manufacturer Belstaff. The almost100-year-old Belstaff
Ineos enters the clothing business with the acquisition of Belstaff. was founded in the U.K. and is associated with making clothes for motorcyclists. It employs around 200 people.—ALEX SCOTT
POLYMERS
▸ Invista will sell textile fiber assets Invista will sell a portfolio of textile fibers, including Lycra spandex, to Shandong Ruyi Investment Holding, which describes itself as the number one textile and apparel company in China. Financial details
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AkzoNobel, Axalta in talks AkzoNobel says it is in talks to merge with its smaller U.S. paint rival Axalta Coating Systems, which is DuPont’s former coatings business. Discussions are at an early phase, according to the Dutch company. AkzoNobel has annual paint and coating sales of about $10 billion, compared with $4 billion for Axalta. Jefferies stock analyst Laurence Alexander describes the prospective deal as “a bold move with a good strategic fit.” Combining the two firms could generate savings by addressing overlaps in business lines and geography and by leveraging economies of scale in raw material purchasing, Alexander tells clients. A merger with Axalta could also protect AkzoNobel from being acquired. The Dutch firm rebuffed three attempts by PPG Industries to acquire it earlier this year. Under Dutch regulations, PPG can make another bid in December. The prospective merger follows a turbulent year for AkzoNobel, whose CEO stepped down in the summer because of ill health. The firm says it remains on track to carve out its chemicals activities into a separate business by April 2018.—ALEX SCOTT
were not disclosed. Shandong is buying businesses that Invista obtained from DuPont in 2005. The businesses, which employ 3,000 people, include Coolmax polyester fibers and Tactel nylon fibers, fiber intermediates such as 1,4-butanediol and tetrahydrofuran, and manufacturing and R&D centers. Invista says it will focus on its nylon business.—MARC REISCH
BIOFUELS
▸ Clariant to make cellulosic ethanol Clariant plans to build a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in southwestern Romania. The facility will use agricultural residues such as wheat straw to make 50,000 metric tons per year of the biofuel. Clariant says it’s building a flagship site intended to confirm that its Sunliquid enzyme and fermentation technology is competitive and sustainable. In September, the company signed a license agreement to allow Enviral to produce cellulosic ethanol in Slovakia.—MELODY BOMGARDNER
MATERIALS
▸ Ascend to ramp up nylon capacity Ascend Performance Materials, which calls itself the world’s largest fully integrated nylon 6,6 maker, says it will increase capacity for nylon and the intermediates
adipic acid, adiponitrile, and hexamethylene diamine 10 to 15% by 2018. Ascend is the former Solutia nylon business, which SK Capital Partners acquired in 2009. Ascend says global demand for nylon 6,6 and intermediates is growing 3 to 4% annually. Competitor BASF has also noticed the trend: It recently penned a $1.9 billion deal to add Solvay’s nylon 6,6 business to its nylon portfolio. —MARC REISCH
SUSTAINABILITY
▸ L’Oréal pursues plastics recycling Cosmetics maker L’Oréal and the green plastics start-up Carbios have founded a consortium to bring Carbios’s recycling technology to market. Carbios is developing an enzymatic process to break down polymers into their constituent raw materials. Last month, it demonstrated reclaiming terephthalic acid from polyethylene terephthalate and using the building block to make virgin polymer again. L’Oréal says it will take the technology into consideration when it designs new packaging.—ALEX TULLO
SPECIALTY CHEMICALS
▸ Wacker opens cyclodextrins lab Wacker Chemie has opened what it calls its first global lab dedicated to new indus-
C R E D I T: I NEO S
PETROCHEMICALS
