Leading PET producer Indorama Ventures has agreed to buy M&G Polimeros Brazil for an undisclosed sum. The Brazilian company’s parent, Italy’s Mossi Ghisolfi Group, filed for bankruptcy protection last October and Indorama was one of its creditors with $57 million owed.

Indorama said M&G’s PET plant is the largest in Brazil with a capacity of 550,000 t/y and also benefits from virtual integration with a manufacturer of key PTA feedstock.

Thailand-based Indorama said South America is an important emerging market with domestic PET demand growing at around 5% per year, adding that Brazil also has strong underlying fundamentals, which are supported by government policies to stimulate economic growth and strengthen its market.

“Indorama Ventures now has unrivalled scale and global reach, being present in five continents with a uniquely balanced and integrated business model,” said Aloke Lohia, group CEO of Indorama Ventures.

The company is projecting immediate incremental revenues and cost synergies, driven by a substantial increase in volumes and potential value add through backward integration. Indorama Ventures announced a record EBITDA of $1 billion in 2017, which was a year-on-year increase of 30%.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals.

The Bangkok-headquartered group has been beefing up its PTA/PET businesses with several deals concluded during the past two years. Last November, it bought the assets of Portugal’s Artlant PTA, while in October it agreed to buy DuPont Teijin Films a leading producer of biaxially-oriented PET (BOPET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) films with eight plants in Europe, USA and China. That month also saw the completion of the DuraFiber purchase in Mexico, which was preceded in June by the addition of Glanzstoff’s tire cord and single-end cord business.

In April 2016, Indorama bought BP’s petrochemical complex in Decatur, Alabama, USA, as well as announcing the acquisition of Cepsa’s isopthalic acid, PTA and PET assets in Spain. This was followed in September 2016 by the formation of a 50:50 joint venture with India’s Dhunseri Petrochem to produce and sell PET for both the Indian and export markets.