Japanese Buy LyondellBasell’s Share in PP Producer

Japanese firms Showa Denko and JX Nippon Oil & Energy are to acquire the 50% stake held by partner LyondellBasell in their PP joint venture SunAllomer. Financial terms were not disclosed. Showa Denko and JX Nippon Oil & Energy said they will make the acquisition on Aug. 31 through SDK Sunrise Investment (SSI), which they jointly own. SSI will then be merged into SunAllomer on Nov 1.

The partnership between SunAllomer and LyondellBasell in various areas, including technology, marketing and sales, will be maintained. Tokyo-headquartered SunAllomer has total PP capacity of 408,000 t/y, producing 281,000 t/y in Oita and 127,000 t/y in Kawasaki.