Chemical groups Solvay and Ineos have obtained regulatory approval in Europe to form a 50/50 chlorovinyls joint venture.The European Commission said that it had approved the sale of certain chlorovinyls businesses belonging to Ineos. The company was required to divest these operations in order to obtain clearance of the joint venture.
Ineos businesses to be acquired by International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) include the production and supply of suspension polyvinyl chloride (S-PVC), sodium hypochlorite (bleach), potassium hydroxide (KOH) and other related products. The transaction includes production facilities owned and operated by Ineos in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Solvay and Ineos are now making final preparations for the joint venture. They plan to form the business, called Inovyn, on July 1, 2015.
"We are delighted to have achieved this very important milestone and to be able to move forward with Inovyn. The joint venture will bring together the strengths of the respective chlorvinyls activities of Ineos and Solvay to create a world scale business that will be better able to serve its customers and rapidly respond to changing European markets," commented Chris Tane, CEO of Ineos ChlorVinyls and future CEO of Inovyn.
Inovyn will be headquartered in London. It will have pro-forma sales of more than EUR3 billion ($3.4 billion), with assets across 18 sites in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
