BASF, INEOS Win EU Approval For Plastics Joint Venture

German chemicals company BASF  has won regulatory approval from the European Union for a styrene joint venture with peer INEOS, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

The EU's executive said that it had given its blessing for the joint venture in styrenes, such as polystyrene, on condition that some activities were sold.
"The proposed transaction, as initially notified on April 7, would have created a very strong player in a market where concentration is already high," the Commission said in a statement.

"To remedy the Commission's concerns, the parties offered to divest part of INEOS' ABS production business thus reducing the overlap."

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is used in computer keyboards and steering wheel covers.