LyondellBasell completes acquisition of A Schulman Inc
23 Aug 2018
LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, on Monday announced the completion of its acquisition of A Schulman Inc, a leading global supplier of high-performance plastic compounds, composites and powders.
With this, the company also announced the formation of a new advanced polymer solutions business segment.
"This acquisition builds upon our complementary strengths, creating a substantial value proposition for our customers and positioning the company for future growth in this space," said Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell. "Moving forward, our team is focused on a seamless integration that captures opportunity and creates exceptional value for our shareholders."
The acquisition more than doubles LyondellBasell's existing compounding business and broadens the company's reach into growing, high-margin end markets such as automotive, construction materials, electronic goods and packaging.
The combined business will operate as a stand-alone advanced polymer solutions reporting segment. In addition to LyondellBasell's existing polypropylene compounding (PPC) assets and the A Schulman assets, the segment will include:
- Catalloy thermoplastic resins – polymers that combine the advantages of polyolefins and elastomers, offering customers durable and flexible products for the automotive, packaging and construction industries;
- Polybutene-1 resins – plastics that offer a combination of temperature resistance and strength and are used in modern water pipes, construction materials and re-closeable packaging
New to LyondellBasell's product portfolio are several materials previously manufactured by A Schulman that will also be included in the advanced polymer solutions segment going forward. These include:
- Engineered composites – lightweight, strong materials that are used in infrastructure, aerospace and automotive applications such as headlamps;
- Powders – specialty particle materials used in coatings, rotational molding, toll compounding and other technical applications; and
- Masterbatches – coloring and additive materials used in the production of paper, paint and plastic goods around the world.
"With the combination of LyondellBasell's vertically integrated polypropylene compounding business and A Schulman's agile customer focus across broad and growing markets, advanced polymer solutions is well positioned to deliver significant value for our customers and our shareholders," said Jim Guilfoyle, executive vice president, advanced polymer solutions and global supply chain for LyondellBasell. "I'm convinced we have all of the ingredients to build a world-class business that will reach a multitude of markets with a full range of innovative, tailored products and solutions."
Shearman & Sterling LLP served as LyondellBasell's legal counsel during the acquisition, while JP Morgan and Dyal Co LLC served as co-financial advisors. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as A Schulman's legal counsel, while Citigroup Global Markets, Inc served as financial advisor.