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European
Union antitrust regulators cleared Basell''s $12.6 billion acquisition
of its U.S. rival Lyondell Chemical Co., a deal that will create one of
the world''s largest chemical companies, according to the Associated
Press. The European Commission said the 8.79-billion euro buyout did
not pose any competition concerns. Lyondell, based in Houston, Texas,
produces ethylene and propylene oxide, used to produce of variety of
chemicals or chemical products. Basell, with headquarters in the
Netherlands, is owned by U.S.-based Access Industries, a private
industrial holding company founded by industrialist Len Blavatnik, who
serves as chairman. The combined Basell-Lyondell would have annual
revenue of more than $34 billion and more than 15,000 employees around
the world, the companies said. By comparison, Dow Chemical Co., the
largest U.S. chemical company and second globally behind Germany''s BASF
AG, had sales last year of roughly $50 billion.
