Mexican petrochemicals producer Alpek (www.alpek.com) is to purchase BASF’s (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) EPS business in North and South America, including production facilities in Guaratinguetá / Brazil and General Lagos / Argentina. The companies also agreed to reorganise their 50:50 Polioles (Mexico City / Mexico; www.polioles.com.mx) JV, with Alpek acquiring the JV’s EPS business and BASF acquiring its PU business. The transactions are expected to be completed by early 2015. Financial details were not disclosed.

Alpek’s purchase of the BASF EPS business includes sales and distribution channels in North and South America and an EPS foam parts business in Chile (Aislapol), in addition to the Guaratinguetá and General Lagos facilities. The deal excludes BASF’s “Neopor” (grey EPS) business, which has production in Germany and South Korea.

Under the Polioles business swap, Alpek will acquire all of Polioles’ EPS business activities, including its EPS production site in Altamira / Mexico. BASF’s acquisition of Polioles’ PU business includes selected assets in its Lerma / Mexico facility as well as all marketing and selling rights for PU systems, isocyanates and polyols. Following the transaction, Polioles will continue operations as an Alpek-BASF joint venture with a product portfolio comprised of industrial and specialty chemicals.

The combined capacity of all EPS production facilities being acquired by Alpek is approximately 230,000 t/y, including Polioles’ 165,000 t/y plant in Altamira / Mexico.

The companies said the majority of employees working in the affected businesses will keep their positions under the new ownerships. Some 440 employees work in the affected businesses – 380 in the EPS businesses and 60 in the PU business. BASF said it will continue to sell Neopor to customers in the USA, Canada and South America. In Mexico, Alpek will sell Neopor for BASF based on a distribution agreement.

Alpek CEO José de Jesús Valdez said: “This transaction represents an attractive opportunity for Alpek to build upon its EPS operations in Mexico, expand its EPS footprint across the Americas and consolidate its plastics & chemicals product portfolio.”

Raimar Jahn, president of BASF’s performance materials business, said: “The acquisition of the PU business significantly strengthens BASF performance materials’ industry-oriented customer solutions approach across North America and globally. BASF will focus its EPS business on strategic markets in Europe and Asia as well as on Neopor.”