PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2020

PET news 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 07+08/20 www.petpla.net Clariant completes sale of its masterbatches business to PolyOne for approx. USD1.6 billion Speciality chemical company Clariant com- pleted the sale of its entire masterbatches busi- ness to PolyOne. The enterprise value of the sale, which consists of separate transactions for Clariant’s global masterbatches business and its masterbatches business in India, amounts to approximately USD 1,560 million which is equivalent to c. 12.2 times the last twelve months reported EBITDA (ending September 2019). “With this completed transaction, Clariant takes another significant step towards becom- ing a pure-play speciality chemical company. By focusing on its three core Business Areas, Care Chemicals, Catalysis and Natural Resource, Clariant intends to deliver above-market growth, higher profitability and stronger cash genera- tion. Having successfully sold masterbatches and healthcare packaging, our target is now to progress with the divestment of our Pigments business,” said Hariolf Kottmann, Clariant’s Executive Chairman ad interim. As a consequence of the completed divest- ment of the masterbatches business, as well as the anticipated divestment of the Pigments business, Clariant will now proceed as soon as practicable with an extraordinary cash distribution of CHF 3.00 per share to its shareholders. Clari- ant’s Board of Directors has set the ex-date to 6 July 2020, the record date to 7 July 2020, and the payment date of the extraordinary distribution to 8 July 2020. As previously announced, remaining net proceeds from the intended divestments will be used to invest in innovations and technological applications within the core Business Areas and to strengthen Clariant’s balance sheet. www.clariant.com www.polyone.com Chinaplas moves to Shenzhen for 2021 debut The 34 th edition of Chinaplas has been rescheduled to April 13-16, 2021, at a new venue – Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. This will be the first time for Chinaplas to be held in Shenz- hen. The trade fair will alternate between Shenzhen (odd years) and Shanghai (even years) in the future. The 400,000m 2 Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center has been classified as an ideal venue for a world-class trade show as all of the 19 exhibition halls feature column-free structures and are located on the first floor, which is claimed to be suitable for displaying large-scale machines, and easy for visitors to navigate. The advanced hardware features and support- ing services are to provide exhibitors and visitors a convenient and refreshing experience. In a press conference held on June 23, Chinaplas organiser Adsale explained that the Greater Bay Area is not only an international centre of scientific and technological innovation, but also the most concentrated region for plastics processing in China. Shenzhen was made a Pilot Demonstration Area in 2019, as well as being one of the core engines of the Greater Bay Area. In 2018, the total industrial added-value of the Greater Bay Area reached 2.82 trillion RMB (about US$399 billion), of which Shenzhen accounted for the lion’s share of 32.3%. “Technology + Innovation” is Shenzhen’s business profile, with more than 3 million companies located there. As far as the pandemic situation is concerned, Adsale states that combined with continually emerging new trends and opportunities, all signs currently point to a positive outlook for the Chinese plastics industry. In the first quarter, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, business shutdowns, the Chinese New Year off-season and other fac- tors, China’s plastic products output dropped 22.9% from the same period last year. Production resumed in April in an orderly way, and industries’ supply chains gradually returned to normal operations. In April, the year-on-year decline in the total output of plastic products narrowed, achieving a recovery of 8.6% from the previous month. In the battle against the pandemic, plastics played a key role in the pro- duction and supply of vital healthcare materials, personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and medical facility construction. The pandemic also fuelled the rapid growth in demand for take- away service, fresh meal delivery, express delivery, convenience foods, household electronic products, medical supplies and fitness equipment. The post-pandemic era is seeing the acceleration of next-generation 5G wireless technology, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles, high-end medical products, antibacterial and antimicrobial surfaces for use in everything from cars to appliances, and more. Demand is expected to remain strong for new materials and technology, including those for key medical applications, safe and protective packaging, and digital production, as well as for recycled and recyclable materials. www.chinaplasonline.com