Austrian petrochemical firm OMV (Vienna; www.omv.com) said that its executive board has decided to pursue talks with state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc, Abu Dhabi, UAE; www.adnoc.ae) “on a potential cooperation with respect to their polyolefins businesses.”

The companies did not say in response to a Plasteurope.com query whether Adnoc has also said it is willing to participate in such talks.

It noted that such a deal could include a combination of resin makers Borealis (Vienna; www.borealis.com) and Borouge (Abu Dhabi; www.borouge.com) as “equal partners under a jointly controlled, listed platform […] to create a global polyolefin company with a material presence in key markets.

OMV owns 75% of Borealis, and the remainder belongs to Adnoc, with the latter holding 54% in Borouge, and Borealis controlling 36%.

“This potential transaction would have a strong and compelling industrial logic,” said Alfred Stern, chairman and CEO of OMV. “Combining the two complementary businesses would bring together Borealis’ technological expertise, and speciality and sustainable polyolefins solutions, with Borouge’s advantageous cost position and access to attractive markets, would create a new global polyolefin powerhouse with significant organic and inorganic growth potential.”

The OMV announcement confirmed media reports about the two companies pursuing such a deal earlier this month. Reuters valued combined annual sales of the merged operations at USD 20 bn.