March 25, 2013 - PolyOne Corporation announced it has entered into an agreement in which the company will sell Specialty PVC Resins - its vinyl dispersion, blending and suspension resin assets - to Mexichem, S.A.B. de C.V. for $250 million in cash. The business includes two production facilities and a R&D center. The sale is subject to satisfaction of regulatory requirements and other customary closing conditions.

PolyOne's resin assets are part of its Performance Products and Solutions segment and generated revenues of $147 million in 2012.

"Since we began our specialty transformation, we have divested commodity equity investments including Oxy Vinyls in 2007 and SunBelt in 2011 and reinvested the proceeds to accelerate the growth of our specialty offerings," said Stephen D. Newlin, chairman, president and chief executive officer, PolyOne Corporation. "As our only remaining business involved in the direct manufacture of base resins, we view the sale of our resin production assets as a natural and next step in the evolution of our portfolio."

"Mexichem is a proven leader and has substantial expertise in base resin manufacturing. We believe they will be able to more fully unlock the potential of our resin production assets, and we look forward to working with them in the future as a supplier," said Mr. Newlin.

Carlos Manrique, VP and General Manager Cloro-Vinilo divison of Mexichem, stated that this acquisition will represent both additional EBITDA and will allow Mexichem to be involved in in niche, highly specialized markets in North America. Another attractive element of this acquisition is the development of "tailor made" solutions for the different customers; PolyOne's product portfolio of Specialty PVC Resins will complement Mexichem's current portfolio.

This acquisition is aligned with the downstream vertical integration strategy which is aimed at increasing the number of value added products, of which Mexichem currently has a small market share. The acquisition will not only enhance Mexichem's position given the competitive advantages it entails, including natural resources from within the region, such as Shale Gas, but also Mexichem's vertical integration.

Source: Mexichem / Polyone