LUXEMBOURG—Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. is to acquire Evonik A.G.'s 52 percent stake and DEG's 15 percent stake in Chinese carbon black producer Qingdao Evonik Chemical Co. Ltd.
Orion said in its Oct. 15 news release that the other partner in the Jiaozhou Finance Investment Center is also in advanced talks regarding the transfer of its shares to Orion in-line with rules governing Chinese state-owned enterprises.
Based in Qingdao, China, QECC was established as a joint venture between Evonik Industries Ltd., DEG and JFIC in 1994. Its Qingdao plant has a capacity of around 75 kilotons per year from three production lines and is located close to major port and transport facilities.
“The acquisition will greatly improve our ability to serve the highly important Chinese market, as well as the rest of Asia-Pacific, over and above the current use of our global network for exports to that region,” Orion CEO Jack Clem said.
“Our plant in Qingdao will become a key pillar of Orion's base of operations in APAC, joining our two plants in South Korea and our regional headquarters in Shanghai.”
The agreement is subject to Chinese government review and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015, Orion said.
The firm added that the European Commission approved Orion's prospective acquisition of QECC concurrent with its consideration of the sale of Evonik's Carbon Black business to Rhone Capital and Triton Advisers in 2011.