Indorama enters into JV with Alpek, Far Eastern to buy M&G assets

According to a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Thailand’s Indorama Ventures has formed a joint venture with Alpek and Far Eastern Investment to acquire M&G USA Corp.’s assets.

The newly formed joint venture, namely Corpus Christi Polymers LLC, has entered into an asset purchase agreement with M&G USA Corp. for its integrated PTA-PET plant which is currently under construction in Corpus Christi, Texas.

As part of the agreement, each company will have the right to receive one-third of the capacity of PTA and PET produced at the Corpus Christi Project upon completion.

Once completed, the plant is expected to have a nominal capacity of 1.1 million tons/year of PET and 1.3 million tons/year of PTA and become the world’s largest integrated PTA/PET production line.

According to an announcement on Far Eastern Investment’s website, the binding bid of the agreement is $1.125 billion and each party has agreed to be responsible for one-third investment.

However, the closing date of the transaction was not revealed and it is subject to bankruptcy court and regulatory approvals.

In February, Alpek announced that the company’s priority in M&G USA Corp.’s restructuring process was to reaffirm its Corpus Christi capacity rights under the original agreements or as a bidder for the Corpus Christi assets.

Also in February, Taiwan’s Far Eastern Investment bought M&G USA Corp.’s 360,000 tons/year PET plant in Apple Grove, West Virginia for $33.5 million, outbidding Indorama’s $10 million offer.

Meanwhile, Indorama entered into an agreement to acquire M&G Polimeros Brazil S.A.’s 500,000 tons/year PET plant in Ipojuca, Brazil for an undisclosed amount earlier this month.