BERWYN, Pa.—Materials maker Trinseo is delaying the sale of its styrenics business because of recent economic conditions.
The announcement sent Trinseo's per-share stock price down more than 20 percent to a little more than $34 in late trading July 26. It's now down almost 40 percent since the start of the year.
Berwyn-based Trinseo in November announced plans to sell the styrenics business, which had sales of $1.1 billion in 2021. In a July 26 news release, officials said that the sale process "generated broad and significant interest from both strategic and financial parties … [but] the deterioration of financing markets and the economic uncertainty created by the war in Ukraine … has impeded the company's ability to obtain full value for the business."
President and CEO Frank Bozich added that "while the separation of the styrenics business is part of our transformation strategy, the current economic and financing environments make it challenging to get a value for the assets that is reflective of their significant cash generation."
"Therefore, we have decided to pause the sale process," he said. "In the meantime, we will utilize the cash generation of the styrenics and other businesses to invest in organic growth projects, increase our sustainable product offerings, decrease our CO2 footprint and return cash to shareholders."