PMMA
BASF sells Resart to IRG Plastics as shakeout begins / Röhm-Agomer pact next?
The long-awaited shakeout in the market for acrylic polymers appears to have begun. The BASF group (HQ: D-67056 Ludwigshafen) has announced the sale of its lossmaking PMMA business to Dublin-based Barlo Group plc. And the EU's recent approval of the acquisition by Veba AG of a 36.4% share in Degussa AG (HQ: D-60311 Frankfurt) has lent credibility to speculation about a merger between market heavyweight Röhm AG (D-64275 Darmstadt) and Degussa's PMMA offshoot, Agomer GmbH (PO Box 1345, D-63403 Hanau).
Barlo said it paid DEM 15.5m to acquire the BASF moulding compounds and sheets business through its subsidiary IRG Plastics NV (Leukaard 2, B-2440 Geel). The PMMA activities acquired by BASF in 1989 employ 300 and had combined sales in 1996 of DEM 130m. Production facilities for 22,000 t/y of PMMA and 17,000 t/y of extruded sheets, along with granules, are operated by Resart GmbH (PO Box 3440, D-66024 Mainz). Spanish affiliate Critesa S.A. (Montcada i Reixac, near Barcelona) produces 7,000 t/y of cast sheets.
The acquisition will lift IRG's capacity for transparent sheets to nearly 40,000 t/y. In addition to PMMA, the company acquired by Barlo in 1992 produces extruded sheets of ABS, PS, SAN and PETG in Belgium and the Czech Republic, and has sales offices in the UK, France and Germany. IRG accounts for 21% of Barlo's DM 300m annual sales. BASF will continue to market the PMMA granules as agent under its Lucryl trademark, along with supplying methyl methacrylate (MMA) feedstock.
Like other plastics markets which have seen a wave of mergers recently, analysts believe PMMA, which has suffered from intense competition and poor prices, also will move with the trend towards fewer and bigger players. Despite spending DEM 50m to upgrade production facilities, BASF said its activities were too small to be competitive. Executives of Degussa and Veba, parent company of chemical and plastics group Hüls AG (D-45764 Marl), are currently discussing cooperation in a number of production segments, and sources close to the companies suggest an alliance in PMMA could be one of the first steps.
Barlo said it paid DEM 15.5m to acquire the BASF moulding compounds and sheets business through its subsidiary IRG Plastics NV (Leukaard 2, B-2440 Geel). The PMMA activities acquired by BASF in 1989 employ 300 and had combined sales in 1996 of DEM 130m. Production facilities for 22,000 t/y of PMMA and 17,000 t/y of extruded sheets, along with granules, are operated by Resart GmbH (PO Box 3440, D-66024 Mainz). Spanish affiliate Critesa S.A. (Montcada i Reixac, near Barcelona) produces 7,000 t/y of cast sheets.
The acquisition will lift IRG's capacity for transparent sheets to nearly 40,000 t/y. In addition to PMMA, the company acquired by Barlo in 1992 produces extruded sheets of ABS, PS, SAN and PETG in Belgium and the Czech Republic, and has sales offices in the UK, France and Germany. IRG accounts for 21% of Barlo's DM 300m annual sales. BASF will continue to market the PMMA granules as agent under its Lucryl trademark, along with supplying methyl methacrylate (MMA) feedstock.
Like other plastics markets which have seen a wave of mergers recently, analysts believe PMMA, which has suffered from intense competition and poor prices, also will move with the trend towards fewer and bigger players. Despite spending DEM 50m to upgrade production facilities, BASF said its activities were too small to be competitive. Executives of Degussa and Veba, parent company of chemical and plastics group Hüls AG (D-45764 Marl), are currently discussing cooperation in a number of production segments, and sources close to the companies suggest an alliance in PMMA could be one of the first steps.
15.12.1997 Plasteurope.com [18962]
Published on 15.12.1997