The long-touted plans by US chemical giant Dow (Midland, Michigan; www.dow.com) to sell some of its polyolefin businesses – see also Plasteurope.com of 03.11.2010 – apparently have been realised. On 27 July 2011, Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem (São Paulo; www.braskem.com.br) said it had acquired the Midland-based group’s PP activities. The deal was confirmed at USD 323m in cash, plus other cash and contingency assumptions amounting to USD 17m, and is expected to close by the end of Q3 this year, following the relevant regulatory approval.

Altogether a little more than 1m t/y of PP capacities will change hands as a result. The deal comprises Dow’s two North American PP plants, located in Freeport and Seadrift, Texas, and churning out some 505,000 t/y. In addition, Dow’s PP plants in Wesseling and Schkopau – both located in Germany and with combined annual capacity of 545,000 t/y – will also be divested to the Brazilian group. Also included in the deal are inventory, business know-how, certain product and process technologies as well as customer contracts and lists. However, the agreement does not include Dow’s Polypropylene Licensing and Catalyst business or related catalyst facilities. All in all, about 200 Dow employees are expected to transfer to Braskem as a result of the transaction.

The sale announcement was made by Dow CEO Andrew Liveris when discussing the group’s Q2 2011 results, although he did not immediately disclose the buyer. “This divestiture is yet another strong example of Dow’s disciplined and ongoing approach to portfolio management and is directly aligned with our strategy to transform our Performance Plastics franchise to focus on downstream, technology-differentiated solutions,” Liveris said. Just last year, Dow completed the sale of its styrenics division – see Plasteurope.com of 21.06.2010. Laying our the group's future strategy, Liveris added that, “We are shifting our Plastics portfolio from a commodity focus to that of a performance focus. This divestment is directly in line with that strategy and allows us to continue to focus on our three main priorities: retiring debt, remunerating shareholders and investing in our innovation agenda so that we deliver consistent earnings growth.”

Braskem has been steadily expanding its PP business, especially in North America. At the beginning of last year, the São Paulo-based group acquired the PP activities of US oil company Sunoco (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; www.sunocoinc.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 02.02.2010. Braskem then touted plans to completely modernise its entire North American polypropylene business for USD 50m – see Plasteurope.com of 18.10.2010. This latest acquisition “represents an important step in Braskem’s growth strategy in the Americas and also consolidates its PP leadership in the US,” the group said in its press release announcing the acquisition.