Brazilian firm creates petrochemicals giant

Sao Paulo, Jan 23 (IANS/EFE) Brazilian petrochemicals company Braskem has announced an agreement to acquire control of rival Quattor, a move aimed at creating one of the world’s largest plastic resins producers.

Braskem said in a statement that it will acquire 60 percent of Rio de Janeiro-based Quattor - which has 10 industrial plants and 13 production lines in three Brazilian states: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Bahia - from holding company Unipar for 870 million reais ($483.3 million).

The remaining 40 percent of Quattor will remain in the hands of state-controlled energy giant Petrobras and construction conglomerate Odebrecht, which in turn controls Sao Paulo-based Braskem with 50.1 percent of voting shares.

As part of the agreement finalised Friday, Braskem also announced a plan to raise between 4.5 billion and 5 billion reais ($2.5 billion to $2.77 billion) through a share offer.

The new petrochemicals conglomerate will have the capacity to produce 5.51 million metric tons of plastic resins and become one of the world’s largest players in that sector.

Braskem, the leader in the Latin American thermoplastic resins market, was founded in August 2002, when Odebrecht and the Mariani and Copene Petroquimica do Nordeste companies integrated their petrochemical assets.

Quattor was founded in June 2000 and operates in the chemicals, petrochemicals and polymers sectors.

Its current annual production capacity is 2.7 million metric tons of petrochemical products and 1.9 million metric tons of thermoplastics.

Braskem’s shares on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange were down almost 3 percent to 13.55 reais late in the session and were among the most heavily traded.

–IANS/EFE