Sika said its acquisition of MBCC Group, the former BASF Construction Chemicals business, is expected to be completed later than expected after Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority decided to conduct an in-depth examination of the market.
The closing of the 5.5 billion Swiss franc ($5.77 billion)deal is now targeted for the first half of 2023, rather than the previously expected end of 2022, Sika said on Wednesday.
“The adapted timeline will not impact the strategic attractiveness of the transaction,” Sika CEO Thomas Hasler said in a statement.
“It remains highly accretive, and our expectation that it will generate annual synergies of 160–180 million francs is unchanged.”
The Swiss construction chemicals company agreed to buy MBCC from an affiliate of private equity firm Lone Star Funds last November to boost its position in sustainable building. read more
The company has already received unconditional regulatory approval for the deal from a number of countries, including Japan, China, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Thailand, Hasler said.
“For a transaction of this magnitude a detailed analysis is not unusual,” he said.
Source: reuters.com
France has launched an offshore green hydrogen production platform at the country’s Port of Saint-Nazaire this week, along with its first offshore wind farm. The hydrogen plant, which its operators say is the world’s first facility of its type, coincides with the launch of another “first of its kind” facility in Sweden dedicated to storing hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC).
The project sets up the Hydrogen Valley in Rome, the first industrial-scale technological hub for the development of the national supply chain for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of industrial processes and for sustainable mobility.
At first glance, hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs. It doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials, like nuclear does. And it doesn’t require large swathes of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity. Seems too good to be true. So…what’s the catch?
