Probably one of the most difficult takeovers of 2016 has now been cleared by the competition authorities in both the US and Canada. In mid-August, Westlake Chemical (Houston, Texas / USA; www.westlake.com) said that following the authorities’ okay, all that stands in the way of it becoming the new owner of vinyls producer Axiall (Atlanta, Georgia / USA; www.axiall.com) is a special meeting of the latter’s shareholders, scheduled for 30 August. If the transaction is nodded off then as well, the USD 3.8 bn deal should close on 31 August this year.

It took Westlake months to sweeten the pill enough for Axiall to accept its takeover bid, with both companies engaging in public mudslinging. Just as it started to look as though a bidding war might be in the making, the two parties came to an agreement in mid-June (see Plasteurope.com of 15.06.2016).