LyondellBasell has closed the acquisition of plastics material and resin manufacturing company A. Schulman for $2.25bn.
With the acquisition, LyondellBasell has more than doubled its existing compounding business.
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The transaction allows the company to produce a wider range of products for growing, high-margin end markets such as packaging, automotive, construction materials and electronic goods.
Schulman is a supplier of high-performance plastic compounds, composites and powders.
LyondellBasell CEO Bob Patel said: “This acquisition builds upon our complementary strengths, creating a substantial value proposition for our customers and positioning the company for future growth in this space.
“Moving forward, our team is focused on a seamless integration that captures opportunity and creates exceptional value for our shareholders.”
The acquisition has resulted in the creation of the Advanced Polymer Solutions business, which will operate as a stand-alone reporting segment.
The new business segment will include LyondellBasell’s existing polypropylene compounding (PPC) assets, the A. Schulman assets, Catalloy thermoplastic resins, and Polybutene-1 resins.
Catalloy resins are polymers that offer durable and flexible products for the automotive, packaging and construction industries, while Polybutene-1 resins offer temperature resistance and strength for re-closeable packaging applications.
The acquisition will add new products to LyondellBasell’s product portfolio including engineered composites, powders and masterbatches.
The newly formed compounding business has combined revenue of $4.6bn and adjusted EBITDA of $446m.
LyondellBasell Advanced Polymer Solutions and Global Supply Chain executive vice-president Jim Guilfoyle said: “With the combination of LyondellBasell’s vertically integrated polypropylene compounding business and A. Schulman’s agile customer focus across broad and growing markets, Advanced Polymer Solutions is well positioned to deliver significant value for our customers and our shareholders.”
The company is also reportedly in talks to buy a controlling interest in petrochemicals firm Braskem from Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht.
