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Main page » 2009 September 28 » This week's world news from ICIS Ceimical Bussines
This week's world news from ICIS Ceimical Bussines | 13:44 |
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HUNTSMAN SETTLES WITH BANKS FOR $1.73BN US-based
chemical firm Huntsman reached a $1.73bn (€1.25bn) cash and
financing settlement with Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse - the
lenders in its doomed $10.6bn merger with Hexion Specialty Chemicals.
Huntsman initially sought more than $4bn in damages against the
lenders in a trial that began in a Texas state court. Huntsman will
receive $620m in cash, $500m in senior secured term loan financing,
$600m in unsecured note financing and $12m for the reimbursement of
litigation costs. In its lawsuit against the lenders, Huntsman
alleged that Hexion's offer was an inducement to dupe the company
into rejecting an earlier acquisition offer by Netherlands-based
petrochemical firm Basell.
WALL STREET PANS HUNTSMAN DEAL Wall Street was
underwhelmed by Huntsman's $1.73bn (€1.25bn) cash and financing
settlement with Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. "In a rather
disappointing turn of events, Huntsman settled its lawsuit
meaningfully below the $3bn-plus recovery previously discussed,"
said BB&T Capital Markets analyst Frank Mitsch. "The cash
settlement was less than expected, but the company also received
favorable financing terms," said Jefferies & Co. analyst
Laurence Alexander. Analysts had expected a cash settlement of around
$1bn. Huntsman shares closed down 9 cents, to $5.92 on the settlement
last Tuesday.
HUNTSMAN DOWNPLAYS WALL STREET REACTION Huntsman
chief financial officer Kimo Esplin downplayed muted Wall Street
reaction to its settlement with banks Credit Suisse and Deutsche
Bank. "I've spoken with about 20 of our top shareholders and
they're all thrilled with the settlement. There may have been some
short-term hedge fund players that were in the stock - not for the
fundamentals but for [an expected] pop in the settlement," said
Esplin. "They're naive to think that you're going to come out of
Texas with a $4bn-5bn [€2.9bn-3.6bn] settlement," he added.
HUNTSMAN MULLS PAYING DOWN MORE DEBT Huntsman
will consider using its settlement money from Credit Suisse and
Deutsche Bank to pay down debt in addition to the announced payoff of
$295m (€212m) in 11.625% senior secured notes due 2010, said chief
financial officer Kimo Esplin. This would include $200m in 11.5% debt
due 2012. "We'll also significantly reduce or eliminate our
undrawn $650m revolver [revolving credit facility]," he said.
Huntsman will save considerable interest expense with the new loans
from the banks on attractive terms, he added. The financing portion
of the settlement consists of $500m in senior secured seven-year term
loans, with an interest rate of LIBOR (London inter-bank offered
rate) plus 2.25% and a $600m unsecured seven-year note at 5.5%.
SPE AIMS TO REVERSE MEMBERSHIP DROP The
Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) is adopting a three-pronged
program to reverse a membership decline; enrollment is down by 47%
from an all-time peak of 30,000 in 1999, the US technical group said.
To reverse the decline, the SPE has adopted a program that addresses
technology, geography and younger members, said president Paul
Anderson at the 2009 National Plastics Exhibition (NPE) in Chicago,
Illinois, US. This will include a focus on bioplastics and
nanomaterials, as well as using social media such as Facebook. More
than 40,000 people registered to attend NPE.
SABIC TARGETS US FOR POLYOLEFIN EXPORTS... Saudi
Arabia's SABIC is taking its first steps towards exporting
polyolefins to the US with plans to begin establishing warehouses in
the country, said CEO Mohamed al-Mady. "The US will become a net
importer of polymer material," said Al-Mady at NPE. "SABIC
is capable of fulfilling those requirements." Part of SABIC's
plan involves establishing warehouses in the US, since exporting
directly from Saudi Arabia would create an unwieldy supply chain,
said Khaled Al-Mana, vice president of SABIC Polymers.
...AND NEARS START UP OF RESINS PLANT Saudi
Arabia's SABIC's plastics subsidiary SABIC Innovative Plastics (IP)
has nearly completed a resins plant in Spain and is ready to start
expanding a resins compounding facility in China, said SABIC CEO
Mohamed al-Mady at NPE. SABIC IP will open its Ultem resins plant in
Cartagena, Spain, at the end of the year, while the 30% expansion of
its compounding facility in Nansha, China, begins in July.
BANKRUPTCY LOOMS FOR US CUSTOM MOLDERS Tightened
credit and weak sales are likely to put 15% of the US custom molding
industry, or 1,170 firms, into some form of bankruptcy, said Jeff
Mengel, partner and head of the plastics team at US-based consultancy
Plante & Moran, while at NPE. The US has 7,800 custom molders,
with total sales of roughly $100bn (€71bn), he said. "It just
has to happen," said Mengel. "There is no way we can have
7,800 companies operating at 30% capacity."
CHEMSPEC GOES PUBLIC China-based specialty
chemicals producer Chemspec International has priced its initial
public offering of 8.1m American Depositary Shares (ADSs) at
$9/share. The ADSs began trading on the New York Stock Exchange last
Wednesday under the ticker symbol "CPC."
ACC SEES US CHEMICAL RECOVERY BY END OF Q3 The
rate of the production decline in the US chemical industry has
moderated in recent months, and the industry should resume growth
toward the end of the third quarter, said the American Chemistry
Council (ACC). "Along the supply chain, inventories-to-sales
ratios for chemicals have improved over the past few months,"
said chief economist Kevin Swift. "It appears that the massive
destocking of 2008 and into the first quarter of 2009 is
dissipating."
DOW CORNING URGES US POLICIES TO BOOST
SOLAR US-headquartered silicon-based materials firm Dow
Corning wants US federal lawmakers to set policies to boost the solar
energy sector. "To make America a 21st century solar power, we
need smart and effective government policies from Congress that will
help the private sector grow, thrive and create thousands of new
jobs," said Dow Corning CEO Stephanie Burns. Her firm is calling
for a permanent advanced manufacturing tax credit, renewable
electricity standards, federal interconnection and net metering
standards, as well as renewable energy payments, known as "feed-in
tariffs."
PERTAMINA PICKS DOW UNIPOL PP TECHNOLOGY Indonesia's
state energy and chemical company PT Pertamina has selected US-based
Dow Chemical's UNIPOL Polypropylene (PP) Process technology for its
new 250,000 tonne/year plant that is expected to be completed by 2011
at its Balongan complex in West Java, said Karen Shepard Jackson,
global commercial director of Dow's Polypropylene Licensing &
Catalyst group. "Pertamina chose the UNIPOL polypropylene
process because it will enable it to build the most competitive and
advantaged facility capable of producing a full range of products,"
she said.
MONSANTO Q3 PROFIT FALLS; WILL CUT 900 JOBS US-based
seeds and herbicides producer Monsanto's fiscal third-quarter net
profit fell by 14% to $694m (€493m) as sales dropped by 11% to
$3.16bn. The company also said that it will shed 900 jobs, or less
than 4% of its regular global workforce, as part of a restructuring
operation. The results reflected decreased revenues from Monsanto's
Roundup and other glyphosate-based agricultural herbicides globally.
EVONIK TO EXPAND GLOBAL METHIONINE CAPACITY\ German
specialty chemical major Evonik plans to further expand its global
production capacity for feed additive methionine at sites in the US,
Germany and Belgium. The expansion will be staged from 2011 through
2013, when Evonik's overall methionine capacity will reach 430,000
tonnes/year.
SHOWA SHELL, SAUDI ARAMCO PLAN SOLAR JV Japan's
Showa Shell Sekiyu and Saudi Aramco Oil have agreed to launch a
feasibility study for a solar-power joint venture. "Amid
sluggish demand for oil products such as gasoline, we, Showa Shell,
aim to expand our business concerning new energy which uses solar
cells," said a Showa official. Japan's fifth-largest refiner and
Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company plan to spend several billion
yen to set up small-scale microgrid-based solar power facilities by
around 2011 in areas of Saudi Arabia that are not served by power
grids, the official said.
ASHLAND TO SELL MARINE SERVICES BUSINESS US
specialty chemicals ¬producer Ashland has agreed to sell its global
marine services business for $120m (€86m) to J.F. Lehman & Co.
The business has revenues of about $140m/year and about 325
employees, with 28 offices and 98 stocking locations in 47 countries.
BASF SITE LEAKS 10 TONNES OF HPN INTO RHINE BASF's
main production site at Ludwigshafen, Germany, leaked 10 tonnes of
hydroxypivalic acid neopentyl glycol ester (HPN) into the river
Rhine. The chemical, which is used in the production of lacquers,
leaked through the cold water system. HPN is irritating to the eyes
but biodegradable, BASF said.
OLTCHIM TO TEMPORARILY CUT AROUND 1,000 JOBS Romanian
state-owned chemical company Oltchim will temporarily cut around
1,000 jobs for at least one month at its Ramnicu Valcea site to
reduce costs. Oltchim, which employs around 3,700 people, has been
operating at 40% of its normal production capacity due to feedstock
supply problems.
LUKOIL BUYS DOW'S STAKE IN TOTAL REFINERY Russia's
Lukoil has bought US-based Dow Chemical's 45% stake in France-based
Total's majority-owned refinery at Vlissingen, the Netherlands, for
$725m (€522m). "A new downstream acquisition in western Europe
organically fits in our company's strategy aimed at increasing oil
refining capacities located in the immediate proximity to the markets
where products with higher added value are sold," Lukoil
president Vagit Alekperov said.
PKN ORLEN INTRODUCES VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY Polish
oil, chemical and petrochemical group PKN Orlen has introduced a
voluntary redundancy plan, part of an effort to trim its workforce by
19% over five years. The program offers zloty (Zl) 27,000 ($8,300,
€6,000) in severance payments to those who volunteer for redundancy
by the end of July, and Zl22,000 to those who apply in August.
TOTAL SACKS 900 STRIKERS AT UK REFINERY The
current employment contracts of up to 900 employees working on
Total's hydrodesulfurization construction project at the Lindsey oil
refinery in the UK were terminated on June 19. Contractors on the
project have been on unofficial strike since June 11. The dispute has
led to protests at the refinery and other industrial sites across the
UK.
FLOODING EYED IN DEADLY ETHANOL DERAILMENT A
train carrying ethanol derailed near Rockford, Illinois, US, on June
19, killing one and injuring three, when 18 of the Canadian National
Railway train's 114 cars jumped the tracks, causing a massive fire
that burned through the night. Investigators said that they suspect
heavy rains washed out the tracks.
CLARIANT TO CUT 500 MORE JOBS IN RESTRUCTURING Clariant
will cut a further 500 jobs in the second phase of its 2009
restructuring program. The company announced 1,350 cuts at the start
of the year.
CF INDUSTRIES EXTENDS OFFER FOR TERRA US
fertilizer maker CF Industries extended the expiration date of its
exchange offer for all of the outstanding shares of Terra Industries
common stock to July 10. CF's previous offer was set to expire on 26
June.
GOODYEAR TO REDUCE PRODUCTION Goodyear Tire
and Rubber will change its operational strategy in North America on
July 6, moving to a three-shift, five-day strategy instead of a
continuous operating schedule. The company said weak demand was
responsible for the change.
DOW AUTOMOTIVE OPENS NEW PLANT IN GERMANY Dow
Automotive, a unit of US major Dow Chemical, has opened a production
plant for automotive adhesives in Schkopau, Saxon-Anhalt, Germany.
The addition creates 180 jobs.
AKZO MAY CLOSE GERMAN SITE NEXT YEAR AkzoNobel
Polymer Chemicals may close its site in Emmerich near Essen in
northwest Germany by the end of 2010, affecting 34 jobs. AkzoNobel
produces peroxides and pastes at Emmerich.
SWISS CHEMS CALL FOR END TO STIMULUS Switzerland's
chemical and pharmaceutical producers do not want the country's
government to launch a further stimulus program, the president of
industry association SGCI said. Instead, the government needs to work
on promoting investment in technologies and innovation for the
future, Christoph Mader told members at the SGCI Chemie Pharma
Schweiz general meeting.
INEOS IN "GROWTH" TALKS FOR GRANGEMOUTH INEOS
is talking to potential investors, including China's largest oil and
gas company, PetroChina, in its refinery and petrochemical complex in
Grangemouth, Scotland, according to a Grangemouth local government
official, cited in the UK's Financial Times. INEOS would not confirm
the talks but a spokesman said the company was in discussion with a
number of potential partners about "growth opportunities".
PETROCHINA TO MAKE $1.2BN OFFER FOR SPC FRANCE'S ORBEO TO ACQUIRE ONECARBON French
carbon emissions trading company Orbeo will acquire Netherlands-based
OneCarbon International, for an undisclosed amount. Orbeo is a joint
venture between French chemical company Rhodia and French investment
bank Societe Generale.
PETROCHINA TO BUY TWO PIPELINES FROM CNPC China's
largest oil and gas producer, PetroChina, will buy two existing
pipelines in western China from its parent firm, China National
Petroleum Company, at yuan 9.7bn ($1.42bn). The pipelines - a crude
oil pipeline and a refined oil pipeline - each 1,858km long, stretch
west to east from Urumqi, northwestern province Xinjiang to Lanzhou,
northwestern QGansu province.
CHINA FLOODING US WITH CHEAP TIRES - REGULATOR The
US International Trade Commission (ITC) said that the domestic market
is being disrupted by a flood of tire imports from China, a finding
that could affect demand for styrene butadiene rubber (SBR). The ITC
said it will send its recommendations to US President Barack Obama's
administration later in the month.
US NATURAL GAS RESOURCES AT RECORD HIGH The US
has enough natural gas to meet domestic consumption for the next
century, the highest level of recoverable resources ever measured.
The American Gas Association (AGA) cited new data from the Potential
Gas Committee (PGC) indicating a total available supply of
2,074,000bn cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas. The US consumes about
22,000 bcf annually.
EVONIK CYRO TO REVAMP N AMERICA OPERATIONS DOW, GAZPROM PARTNER ON CO2
REDUCTION NYNAS OPENS NEW HOUSTON TERMINAL RUSSIA LEVIES DUTY ON IMPORTED POLYETHERS All rights reserved ICIS.COM see it full version at www.icis.com Прикрепления: Image 1 | |
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