OMV Completes Borealis Buy
Following an agreement announced in March this year, OMV has completed its purchase of an additional 39% stake in Borealis from Mubadala Investment Company for €4.68 billion.
The Austrian oil and gas group now owns a 75% share of Borealis and becomes a leading provider of polyolefins and base chemicals, while Mubadala has retained a 25% interest. The combined capacities make OMV and Borealis the number one producer in Europe of ethylene and propylene and one of the top 10 polyolefin producers worldwide.
“This transaction is well aligned with our strategy as a responsible investor and we are confident in the value this partnership will create for all three companies,” said Musabbeh Al Kaabi, CEO, Petroleum & Petrochemicals, at Mubadala.
OMV added that it has identified synergies of more than €800 million from the acquisition.
The two groups intend to jointly expand their knowhow and activities in the circular economy. Borealis’ work in plastics recycling through subsidiaries such as EcoPlast in Austria and mtm plastics in Germany among other initiatives, is described as a perfect fit with OMV’s chemical recycling technology, ReOil.
OMV has also started its divestment program, which it said will realize €2 billion by the end of 2021. The company signed a deal in September to sell its 51% share in gas logistics subsidiary Gas Connect Austria to Austrian electricity group Verbund. The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2021.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
