Styron Europe, part of the former Dow Chemical styrenics activities spun off in 2010 and subsequently sold to private equity, is selling its European expandable polystyrene (EPS) business to RP Compounds, subsidiary of privately owned Belgian compounder and distributor Ravago.

The agreement foresees a Ravago acquiring Styron's 70,000 t/y EPS plant at Schkopau, Germany, as well as related intellectual property and the Sconapor brand name.

The sale of the business built up by Dow in the mid-1990s following its acquisition of the recently privatized East German assets of Buna-SOW-Leuna is in line with Styron's strategic goal of refining its portfolio, said company president and CEO Chris Pappas. "The EPS business will be a stronger fit for Ravago as they are strategically committed to growing in this area," Pappas said. 

The expertise of the Styron EPS team and the high level of the factory setup will further strengthen Ravago's manufacturing platform and technologies," said CEO Theo Roussis, noting that "the customer portfolio is very complimentary." The Belgian company had been seeking to pick up additional EPS assets following the 2012 acquisition of Greek producer Monotez.

Styron's private equity owner Bain Capital recently shelved plans for an initial public offering for an undisclosed volume of shares and rebrand the company as Trinseo, a name already being used for some segments of the business. Bain had initially hoped to raise $400 through the offering.