tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50049698709852399552012-01-13T07:45:12.543-08:00Views from Chemical Week: The Worldwide News Source for Chemicals MakersAI Chemical Business Medianoreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-52094001475016301262007-09-25T15:27:00.000-07:002007-09-25T15:28:19.381-07:00

Join the fun at CHEMICAL REACTION.

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-87860568785904315332007-08-16T07:16:00.000-07:002007-08-16T07:26:04.617-07:00

Chemical firms across Europe and beyond are having to come to terms with Reach, the European Union's recently introduced environmental legislation. Multinationals and small companies alike will be affected by the legislation. Here's an uncut and candid detail from specialty chemicals firm DSM on how it is approaching Reach.DSM's input is from Environment Manager Jan Berends and DSM Board Member

Alex Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10262914763902998844noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-25597178560565549162007-08-06T08:17:00.000-07:002007-08-06T10:46:10.932-07:00

The global credit squeeze that has shaken debt and equity markets during the past few weeks may cool the feverish pace of industry M&A. Banks are left holding debt of about $400 billion in uncompleted management and leveraged buyouts worldwide, according to estimates compiled by Baring Asset Management (London). Several big chemical deals are in that pipeline, including Sabic-GE Plastics,

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-33300767665700316932007-08-03T20:05:00.000-07:002007-08-06T10:45:32.149-07:00

Rohm and Haas (R&H) says it is considering “strategic options” for its salt business, which could include a divestment or spin-off. The company says it expects to make a decision by year-end. R&H’s salt business posted sales of $505 million in first-half 2007, an increase of 19% from the prior-year period. Earnings for the six-month period were $37 million, an increase of 85%, in line with

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-61003019015163847402007-07-20T17:02:00.000-07:002007-07-20T17:03:24.030-07:00

So much for the dog days of summer. This is turning out to be an extraordinary season for the industry. Three deals have eclipsed the $10-billion mark so far, and there have been a scattering of billion-dollar transactions. Sabic, Apollo Management (New York), and Access Industries (New York)—industry’s emerging heavy hitters—have recently agreed to acquire GE Plastics, Huntsman, and Lyondell,

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-12441530025463424802007-07-19T08:00:00.001-07:002007-07-19T08:00:46.533-07:00

Three officials of Abiquim (São Paulo), the Brazilian chemical industry association, were among those killed in yesterday’s crash of a TAM Airlines flight in São Paulo, according to a post on Abiquim’s Web site (www.abiquim.org.br). “The members of Abiquim’s board of directors, and Abiquim officials, regret to inform that Abiquim’s executive vice president Guilherme Duque Estrada de Moraes,

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-42951231231689143682007-07-17T07:53:00.000-07:002007-07-19T07:55:04.691-07:00

Two recent deals demonstrate how private equity continues to reshape the industry’s landscape by assembling and building leading industry franchises. CVC Capital Partners’ (London) agreement to acquire Univar for about €1.52 billion ($2.1 billion) would further increase the number of top chemical distributors under private ownership (p. 6). Apollo Management’s (New York) agreement, through its

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-72367899176686682552007-07-17T06:10:00.000-07:002007-07-17T06:11:00.682-07:00

Basell has agreed to acquire Lyondell Chemical for $12.1 billion in an all cash transaction. Basell says it has offered Lyondell $48/share, a 20% premium to Lyondell’s July 16 closing price. The total value of the deal including debt is $19 billion, Basell says. Both companies say they have agreed to the deal. Lyondell is split into three businesses: ethylene, co-products, and derivatives;

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-79848546796985479632007-07-04T20:33:00.000-07:002007-07-20T17:04:38.577-07:00

Hexion Specialty Chemicals, owned by private equity firm Apollo Management, has launched a $10.4 billion, or $27.25/share, bid to acquire Huntsman, topping Basell’s previously announced $25.25/share agreement to acquire the company. Huntsman says that a committee of independent directors is evaluating the Hexion bid and “are engaged in discussions with Hexion regarding their proposal.” Basell is

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-8207241101072835712007-06-27T00:00:00.000-07:002007-07-03T11:02:45.708-07:00

Chemical makers have notched some key victories in Washington over the past two years, most notably on the plant security and natural gas fronts. However, activity in Washington last week, particularly concerning proposed energy legislation, demonstrates that a more challenging environment lies ahead.Politicians are already gearing up for the 2008 presidential election in the U.S., which is

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-4273141075908604302007-06-18T15:35:00.000-07:002007-06-18T15:36:17.215-07:00

The board of ICI has rejected a £7.2-billion ($14.2 billion) takeover bid by Akzo Nobel. Akzo approached ICI to discuss a possible cash offer for the company on June 4. ICI's board unanimously rejected the proposal "on the grounds that it significantly undervalues ICI," ICI says. "The Board is very confident in the group’s strategy and strong growth prospects," ICI says. Akzo says it "will

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-47477990912509404982007-06-11T19:35:00.001-07:002007-06-11T19:35:58.580-07:00

Favorable industry conditions and improved fortunes for ACC fostered an upbeat mood at the organization’s annual meeting, held late last week at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WV. ACC has added more than 25 new members over the past two years, including Huntsman and Chevron Phillips Chemical, and has scored legislative victories on critical issues such as natural gas and chemical plant

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-85199726543753894862007-06-05T10:04:00.000-07:002007-06-05T10:07:37.857-07:00

By Alex Scott (ChemicalWeek)The European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (Reach) program came into force on June 1, but the legislation remains incomplete with large chunks of crucial guidance on how the chemical industry can implement Reach still missing, industry sources say. Iuclid 5, the European Commission’s long-promised online database that will enable

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-59788727034511499042007-05-25T06:54:00.000-07:002007-05-25T09:14:28.128-07:00

The New York Times reports this morning that Dow Chemical made a bid to acquire DuPont last fall. The gem is included in a report that discloses that the SEC has launched an inquiry into whether two senior executives at Dow Chemical secretly tried to put the company into play as well as into the unusual trading in its stock that may have resulted.But the inquiry, still in the informal stage, may

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-85493476587888048542007-05-23T12:55:00.000-07:002007-05-23T12:57:38.384-07:00

Chemical makers are ramping up green chemistry efforts, spurred by many factors, including regulation, a desire for renewable feedstocks and materials, and public demand for greener and more environmentally friendly products. One challenge for producers, however, is that customers demand products that cost the same as traditional materials. This makes it tough for producers to cover the cost of

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-79109317670272479082007-05-18T16:35:00.000-07:002007-05-18T16:36:17.934-07:00

Sabic is very near a deal to acquire GE Plastics, sources tell CW. A formal announcement is expected by Monday, May 21. Bidding for the business was near $11 billion, according to financial sources. Other finalists in the bidding for GE Plastics included private equity firm Apollo Management (New York) and Basell. GE said last month that it expects to announce a definitive agreement on the sale

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-67453396684637590622007-05-18T05:40:00.001-07:002007-05-18T05:45:30.313-07:00

By Jorge BuhlerAs I was reading your “Where have all the students gone?” note I was thinking “What the industry needs to do is pay better”. Students as a whole are rational beings, pay counts. I am glad you bring it up too.Another factor, soft but an important one, is professional prestige. In the US, for whatever reasons, engineering in general is a low prestige profession (

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-30203818508671087152007-05-15T11:30:00.000-07:002007-05-15T11:32:01.746-07:00

The American Section of the Société de Chimie Industrielle awarded its Palladium Medal last week to Nova Chemicals president and CEO Jeff Lipton, a deserving honor for one of industry’s most passionate, tireless, and effective advocates. During his acceptance speech, Lipton called on industry to focus more attention on the critical issue of process safety, urging companies to measure and publicly

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-9863873687653679122007-05-11T11:06:00.000-07:002007-05-11T11:36:24.427-07:00

Russian industrialist Leonard Blavatnik, who controls Access Industries, the owner of Basell, has purchased the right to acquire an 8.3% stake in Lyondell Chemical. Blavatnik signed a forward contract with Merrill Lynch that grants him the option of purchasing about 21 million Lyondell shares at $32.11/share, or $674 million. Merrill Lynch has hedged its exposure by agreeing to acquire Occidental

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-6829980139194469512007-05-08T11:48:00.000-07:002007-05-08T12:42:14.257-07:00

A lawsuit filed by former Dow Chemical executive v.p. Romeo Kreinberg today charges that Dow chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris threatened to fire Kreinberg if he did not adjust his “negative body language” and “attitude,” just three weeks before Dow canned Kreinberg and former CFO Pedro Reinhard charging that both “were involved in unauthorized discussions with third parties about the potential

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-76089703114540657442007-05-08T09:00:00.000-07:002007-05-08T09:13:34.075-07:00

By LYN TATTUM (Publisher and group v.p., Chemical Week)It is no secret that the chemical industry fears skilled labor shortages in the coming years, as students shrink away from studying science, and those that do graduate in chemistry or chemical engineering lean towards more glamorous sectors such as IT, biotechnology, or finance. This trend has often been attributed to the continuing poor

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-85315527951408942162007-05-07T13:11:00.000-07:002007-05-08T09:09:49.391-07:00

One of the more notable features of first-quarter results has been the ability of producers to maintain earnings strength despite poor U.S. markets. The primary cause of U.S. weakness is sluggish housing and automotive markets, which have hurt demand across key sectors such as coatings and plastics.Dow Chemical, for instance, reported a 7% first-quarter volume decline in the U.S., compared to the

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-64616331824695431302007-05-02T10:57:00.000-07:002007-05-08T09:12:16.567-07:00

By ROB WESTERVELT (Editor, Chemical Week)Chemical makers delivered first-quarter earnings that were in line with expectations, with a few exceptions, as robust growth in Asia and Europe offset U.S. housing and automotive weakness(p. 7). Results strengthened, however, as the first quarter progressed and executives presented upbeat outlooks in discussions with investors.“We continue to expect

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-57492060196264718142007-04-23T12:39:00.000-07:002007-04-26T05:04:10.587-07:00

By ROB WESTERVELT (Editor, Chemical Week)Sensient Technologies singled out buy-side equity analyst John McMillin--who covers materials, food, and agribusiness for Prudential Equity—saying in a press release issued this morning that an incorrect statement related to historical calculations of Sensient's stock price was “an attempt to minimize the company’s recent success.”“McMillin…. incorrectly

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-80642823665751106092007-04-19T15:27:00.000-07:002007-04-23T12:49:53.125-07:00

Cargill's efforts to develop a chemical business based on renewable resources such as corn and soybeans get page 1 treatment in today's U.S. edition of the Wall Street Journal. (A Bio-Plastics RevivalMakes Gains at Cargill; WSJ.com is subscription required)."High oil prices have bolstered the economic rationale for making plastics, foam and lubricants from plants. With a growing focus on

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-71441062323142836002007-04-18T11:39:00.000-07:002007-04-25T18:56:12.638-07:00

By HILFRA TANDY (Editor, Chemical Matters)Dow dismissals - To lose one may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness (apologies to Oscar Wilde).What is it with Dow Chemical and high profile dismissals? Should the latest jaw-dropper force a root and branch overhaul of board governance?Dow is unique. It is the only chemical major that has sacked two CEOs/chairmen in the last

AI Chemical Business Medianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-90109032563093635402007-04-17T06:29:00.000-07:002007-04-25T18:58:38.563-07:00

By ROB WESTERVELT (Editor, Chemical Week)Dow Chemical's board has authorized a revised slate of board nominees for election at its annual meeting next month, dropping the nomination of former CFO Pedro Reinhard. Dow last week charged that Reinhard and Romeo Kreinberg, executive v.p./performance plastics and chemicals, “were involved in unauthorized discussions with third parties about the

CW Editnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-55884288915935461352007-04-16T09:01:00.000-07:002007-04-25T18:54:46.777-07:00

By JOHN PEARSON (President and CEO, Chemical Business Group; Access Intelligence)The fact that our industry faces new challenges caused by persistently high feedstock prices has electrified many a conference for the past year or more. But there is another much smaller, but potentially potent challenge to achieving the forecast growth rates for some chemicals.It comes from the demand side.

RWnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-72334348452528415802007-04-12T14:34:00.000-07:002007-04-25T18:58:57.503-07:00

By ROB WESTERVELT (Editor, Chemical Week)Those rumors of a planned leveraged buyout of Dow Chemical may not have been all that exaggerated after all. Dow today fired Pedro Reinhard, a senior advisor, former CFO, and current member of its board, and Romeo Kreinberg, executive v.p/performance plastics and chemicals, charging that both “were involved in unauthorized discussions with third parties

RWnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-73055991977903870102007-04-09T18:11:00.000-07:002007-04-25T18:59:18.310-07:00

By ROB WESTERVELT (Editor, Chemical Week)Dow Chemical is the subject of speculative frenzy again after the British tabloid Sunday Express reported yesterday that a group of Middle East investors and U.S. buyout firms was preparing a $50-billion takeover bid for the company. The same paper reported two months ago that a buyout bid for Dow Chemical was imminent.Dow chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris

RWnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5004969870985239955.post-8864037087990725062007-03-26T09:08:00.000-07:002007-04-25T18:53:55.619-07:00

By HILFRA TANDY (Editor, Chemical Matters)The unbearable transience of everything.McKinsey’s Richard Foster and Sarah Kaplan in Creative Destruction (1) note that US companies established and entering the S&P 90 in the 1920s and 1930s could expect to remain on the list for over 65 years. By the late 1990s, the turnover rate of the S&P 500 was around 10% implying an average lifetime on the list of

AI Chemical Business Medianoreply@blogger.com3