Braskem said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy Dow Chemical's global polypropylene business for $323 million.

Braskem said the deal represents an important step in its growth strategy in the Americas and also consolidates its polypropylene leadership in the U.S.

The business has total annual polypropylene production capacity of 1.1 million tons with four industrial plants in the U.S. and Germany.

The two plants located in the U.S., at Freeport and Seadrift, Texas, add up to 1.4 million tons, increasing Braskem's annual PP capacity by 50% in the region. The two plants located in Germany, at the petrochemical complexes of Wesseling and Schkopau, have annual capacity of 544,000 tons of PP.

The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter 2011 pending regulatory approvals.