E-shots Web-exclusive: Ineos Group purchases Borealis Norwegian operations

Can you say “industry consolidation”? The acquisitions among resin producers just keep on coming this year, the latest being the purchase of the Norwegian polyolefins (PP and LDPE) business of Borealis AS (www.borealisgroup.com) (Vienna, Austria) for €290 million ($405 million). The deal includes a 50% share of a 557,000-ton/year gas cracker.

Who is the big spender? Say hello to Ineos Group (www.ineos.com), the largest private company in Britain with 2006 sales of $34 billion, and the fifth-largest chemical company in the world, according to Chemical & Engineering News. Ineos’ purchase was recently cleared by the European Commission, closing the sale, and the company says it will integrate Borealis businesses in Bramble, Norway into Ineos Polyolefins.

Never heard of Ineos? It is a relatively young company, formed in 1998, that has grown by acquisition ever since. This is the same company that closed a deal two weeks ago to purchase the Lustran Polymers (www.lustran-polymers.com) ABS business from Lanxess (see immnet.com/articles/2007/August/3303), spending $49 million initially for a 51% joint venture called Ineos ABS with Lanxess, and then purchasing its partner’s share over two years.

That’s not all. Ineos also agreed to purchase Norsk Hydro’s (www.hydro.com/en/index.html) Kerling ASA polymers unit for $905 million, although that sale is under antitrust investigation by the European Commission. With no shortage of cash in its war chest, look for more of the same from Ineos in the future.