Ineos to buy Eastman site

Ineos has agreed to buy Eastman Chemical’s site in Texas City for $490 million. The key asset at the complex is an acetic acid plant with annual capacity of 600,000 metric tons per year. The plant’s output had long been under contract for sale to Ineos and the previous owner of its acetic acid business, BP. Eastman acquired the facility as part of its $100 million purchase of Sterling Chemicals in 2011. Eastman will continue to own the plasticizer plant on the site, but Ineos will operate it. Ineos also signed a memorandum of understanding to supply vinyl acetate to Eastman. The firms hope to close the transaction by the end of this year. Eastman will continue to make acetyl chemicals in Kingsport, Tennessee.