Business would be a walk in the park if all predictions turned out to be just as spot-on as Eastman Chemical’s (Kingsport, Tenessee / USA; www.eastman.com) plans to divest its PET business before the end of the year – see Plasteurope.com of 24.08.2010. After having sold its PET businesses in Cosoleacaque / Mexico and Zarate / Argentina to Alfa’s (San Pedro Garza García / Mexico; www.alfa.com.mx) Alpek petrochemical division – see Plasteurope.com of 20.09.2007 – the group now has announced that it has entered into a definite agreement with Alpek’s DAK Americas (Charlotte, North Carolina / USA; www.dakamericas.com) to sell its PET business and related assets and technology.

Expected to close during Q4, the deal’s final purchase price remains unclear although cash proceeds are valued at USD 600m. Commenting on the sale, Eastman CEO Jim Rogers said: “With the path forward for PET now clear, we are dedicating all of our energies to leveraging our solid core businesses and strong balance sheet to deliver value creating growth.”

DAK Americas supplies terephthalic acid (TPA) monomers, PET resins and polyester stable fibres (PSF) for the western hemisphere.