BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) has moved to legally carve out its EUR 2.5 bn styrenics activities after a two-year delay that was blamed on the weak economy – see Plasteurope.com of 30.10.2008. Earlier, the group had tried to effect the carve-out from 1 January 2009. The new stand-alone company called Styrolution is now planned to start operations on 1 January 2011. The activities employ around 1,460 people worldwide.

Styrolution will incorporate most of BASF’s styrene monomer and polystyrene production as well as styrene butadiene copolymers (SBC) and the styrene copolymer blends. Production facilities at Ludwigshafen and Schwarzheide / Germany, Antwerp / Belgium, Ulsan / Korea, Dahej / India and Altamira / Mexico will transfer to the new company. The group will retain its global polystyrene foams business and the SM and PS capacities at Ludwigshafen used in foam production. Separate companies will be established where BASF has marketing and sales operations, including the US, Italy and China.

“The establishment of Styrolution is a further step in the implementation of BASF’s strategy for its styrenics business,” said Martin Brudermüller, board member with responsibility for the group’s plastics activities. However, he did not disclose whether a buyer is currently on the hook. A potential sale in 2008 to an interested buyer widely believed to be LyondellBasell predecessor Basell ran afoul of price and financing considerations – see Plasteurope.com of 09.07.2008.

Since deciding to sell its styrenics business, BASF has been paring down assets. In Q3 2008 it slashed European capacity by 25% and implemented a further 15% reduction at the beginning of Q3 2009. The PS activities in Brazil, including a 190,000 t/y production facility at Sao José dos Campos, were sold in September 2009 to petrochemical producer Companhia Brasileira de Estireno (CBE, Sao Paulo), part of the Unigel group, for an undisclosed sum. As early as 2005, BASF quit the North American polystyrene market, selling out to Ineos.

Several other styrenics businesses have changed hands over the past several years, with Dow transferring 62.5% of its Styron carve-out to an affiliate of Bain Capital Private Equity for USD 1.63 bn (see Plasteurope.com of 21.06.2010). Lanxess sold its ABS business over a two-year period to Ineos, completing the deal at the end of 2009 – see Plasteurope.com of 18.12.2009. Major PS and PE producer Nova Chemicals was sold to International Petrochemical Investment Company (IPIC, Abu Dhabi / UAE; www.ipic.ae) for USD 2.3 bn, including debt (see Plasteurope.com of 09.07.2009).