Tessenderlo sells PVC, chlor-alkalis businesses to Ineos ChlorVinylsTessenderlo is to sell its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlor-alkali businesses to Ineos ChlorVinyls for €110m ($159m) on a cash-free, debt free basis, the Belgium-based chemical company said this week.
Ineos ChlorVinyls is part of UK-based Kerling, a leading manufacturer of PVC and caustic soda in Europe. The company has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Tessenderlo to purchase its chlor-alkali and vinyls organic chlorine derivatives (OCD) assets at its Tessenderlo site in Belgium. The PVC sites in Mazingarbe, France, and at Beek in the Netherlands - as well as a fourth site in Maastricht, the Netherlands, which also has a benzyl alcohol plant - are also part of the transaction. The four sites employ a total of 850 people.
“We looked for a long time for the right home for these businesses,” said Tessenderlo CEO Frank Coenen. “As a European leader Ineos ChlorVinyls is well placed to offer these businesses the best possible growth opportunities,” he added. Tessenderlo’s plastics converting business will not be part of the deal, which is subject to European merger approval."
We have previously announced our growth intentions to the market and our investors, and I am therefore delighted that we today can announce the next step in this strategy,” said Kerling CEO Chris Tane.
“The Tessenderlo Group’s businesses and assets are high quality and supported by an organisation which has shown ability to manage business through a very difficult period in our industry,” he added. After the transaction, Tessenderlo will exit from the commodities market and focus on its sulphate, akiolis and gelatine businesses, and its remaining plastics pipe systems and water treatment segment.
