The Israeli company Dor Chemicals Ltd. (Haifa, 26110 Israel; www.dor-chemicals.co.il) will take over 80 % of the PP film business “Moplefan” formerly held by Basell (NL-2132 MS Hoofddorp; www.basell.com). Assuming the agreement of the Italian monopolies commission, the transaction is planned to be completed by the middle of December. Dor Chemicals, which belongs to Smuel Dankner´s private unit trust Dankner Group ( www.dankner-group.co.il), specialises in the production of petrochemical substances such as methanol, formaldehyde and hydrogen. Since 1999, Dor has also been operating another plant for the production of BOPP films with a capacity of 13,000 t/y which is part of its subsidiary Dor Film (Camiel; 21616 Israel; www.dorfilm.com).

The “Moplefan” business comprises four plants in Italy and one facilitiy in Liege, Belgium, with an overall capacity of 120,000 t/y which according to Dor makes up approximately 15% to 20% of the European market for PP films. The business was originally intended to yield USD 58m. According to the Israeli business press, this sum was changed to USD 45m after extensive assessment and intense negotiations. For the time being, Basell will be retaining a 20% share in the company and remain part of the management board. However, Dor is reported to have a two-year option for the takeover of the remaining shares.

The sale of the company corresponds to Basell´s strategic focus on the core businesses of PP and PE production and the appendant technologies, says CEO Volker Trautz about the business transaction. By the way: Earlier, at K´2001, Basell announced a merger of its PE and PP divisions as part of the company´s new strategy. In future, the two materials will be marketed together in regional organisations with a focus on applications.