Orbia Mulls Sale of Vinyls Business

Mexican PVC producer Orbia is mulling the future for its vinyls business. The company, formerly known as Mexichem, said in a securities filing to the Mexican Stock Exchange that it is in the process of “analyzing potential divestment alternatives or strategic alliances”.

The filing was made in response to an article by the Bloomberg news agency, which listed possible buyers as private equity firm Apollo Management, and producers Ineos and Westlake Chemicals. A sale could reportedly be worth up to $4 billion.

Orbia’s vinyls business includes German PVC paste producer Vestolit and Alphagary of the US. Vestolit was bought by Orbia (as Mexichem) in December 2014 while Alphagary joined the Mexican group in September 2019. The business operates emulsion and suspension PVC plants in Mexico, USA and Colombia.

According to a Monex research note, the vinyls business represented 32.6% of sales and 30% of EBITDA at Orbia during the past 12 months.