ENI (Rome), Italy’s energy major, has confirmed that it is looking for options for its chemicals subsidiary Versalis (Milan).
Responding to media reports that ENI is planning to sell the unit, Claudio Descalzi, ENI CEO said, “We are looking for a joint venture to extract value from the business.” Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported earlier this week that ENI is working with Barclays on a potential sale of Versalis, which may raise €1 billion ($1.1 billion). Several private equity firms may be interested in bidding for the unit, it said.
Versalis has achieved a major turnaround since its creation some three years ago. The restructuring includes reducing petrochemicals capacity in Italy and the United Kingdom, converting some of its assets to biobased chemicals, and a significant push into Asia. The company is now profitable and plans to complete its transformation as soon as possible. Versalis in the first half of last year lost €182 million and in the first six months of 2015 made a profit of €95 million.
By Natasha Alperowicz
Source: Chemical Week
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.) announced it has acquired Ai-Red Technology (Dalian) Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and supplier of paint protection and window film for auto and architectural markets in the Asia Pacific region.
BASF and Israeli packager StePac have joined forces to create the “next generation” of fresh produce packaging. BASF will provide StePac with greater flexibility to advance contact-sensitive packaging formats to a higher sustainability standard by supplying StePac with Ultramid Ccycled – a chemically recycled polyamide 6.
TotalEnergies’ biorefinery in La Mède, France, allows direct access to renewable feedstock for its drop-in RE:newable polymer range derived from bio-based products. The company claims these polymers retain virgin-like properties.
