Unic Press UK: BP plc announced yesterday that it has, subject to customary adjustments, agreed to sell its global petrochemicals business to INEOS in a $5 billion deal.
“Under the terms of the agreement, INEOS will pay bp a deposit of $400 million and will pay a further $3.6 billion on completion. An additional $1 billion will be deferred and paid in three separate instalments of $100 million in March, April and May 2021 with the remaining $700 million payable by the end of June 2021. Subject to regulatory and other approvals, the transaction is expected to complete by the end of 2020”, the BP said in a statement.
BP’s petrochemicals business is primarily in two key sides – aromatics and acetyls – with a strong presence and interests in 14 manufacturing plants in Asia, Europe and the U.S., producing in 2019 circa 9.7 million tonnes of petrochemicals.
With this deal, the BP has met its $15 billion target for divestments a full year ahead of schedule, says the company’s chief financial officer, Brian Gilvary.
INEOS is a leading global chemicals company with a network spanning over 180 sites in 26 countries, employing some 22,000 staff worldwide. Over the past two decades, INEOS has acquired a number of businesses from bp, most notably the 2005 $9 billion purchase of Innovene, the bp subsidiary that comprised the majority of bp’s then chemicals assets and two refineries.
