BRUSSELS, Belgium (April 13) — A U.S. bankruptcy court has approved Solutia Inc.´s $212.5 million purchase of Akzo Nobel N.V.´s 50-percent share of the Flexsys N.V. joint venture between the two.
Solutia put in a bid to buy out its partner in the Flexsys rubber chemicals business in December, but the deal was subject to approval by the bankruptcy court because of Solutia´s Chapter 11 reorganization. Completion of the deal is expected in late April or early May.
Flexsys reported 2005 sales of about $600 million and employs more than 1,000 people worldwide, according to Solutia.
Solutia also has received permission to buy Akzo out of their Crystex joint venture in Japan and given the go-ahead for the sale of its Dequest water treatment business to Thermphos Trading GmbH for $67 million in cash.