Spanish group grows further with first entry into North America.
Growing Spanish PET group La Seda de Barcelona (LSB) has acquired chemical group Intercontinental Quimica (Interquisa), giving it an entry point to the North American market.
LSB did not reveal the purchase price, but said in a statement that Interquisa has been valued at €595m, including working capital. It will fund the acquisition through a capital increase.
LSB’s chairman, Rafael Espanol, said: “The acquisition of Interquisa has many strategic motivations. First of all, Interquisa’s focus on two fundamental but relatively scarce raw materials for the polymers industry, PTA and PIPA, matches our current product mix very well.
“Secondly, Interquisa’s presence in North America offers a unique opportunity to access this dynamic market through a new state-of-the-art production facility.
“Finally, we shall achieve significant synergies between both companies, not only in terms of cost savings, but also due to the dynamics of vertical integration. Our PET plant in San Roque, in the south of Spain, is the best example, as it is physically connected to Interquisa’s PTA facility.”
Interquisa’s plant near Montreal in Canada has an annual production capacity of 600,000 tonnes of PTA. The facility entered into operation in 2003 and employs 140 people.
In 2006, Interquisa Canada reported sales of €333m and EBITDA of €23m. For 2007, sales were expected to rise by 15% to €385m. The PTA factory is jointly owned by Interquisa and the Société Général de Financement (SGF), Quebec government’s industrial investment vehicle, with 51% and 49% shares respectively.
LSB said the deal makes it Europe’s leading producer of PTA, with 1.3m tpa of capacity in two factories at San Roque (Spain) and Wilton (UK).
LSB has been on a fast growth curve. In 2006, it bought Advansa and it is currently in negotiations to purchase Amcor PET Packaging Europe.
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