Indorama To Acquire Eastman PET Plants

Thailand's Indorama Polymers says it has agreed to acquire Eastman Chemical's polyethylene terephthalate plants in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Workington, England, for about $95 million.

For Indorama, the planned purchase continues a rapid expansion in the PET business that includes a plant that opened in Lithuania in 2006 and announced plans to build a large PET plant in Decatur, Ala., by the end of 2008.

For Eastman, the sale is part of a retrenchment from the PET business. Earlier this month, the company completed the sale of two Latin American PET plants to the Mexican conglomerate Alfa. The company told analysts in November that by the end of 2008 it will have halved its PET production capacity, leaving it with only North American facilities.

Global demand for PET is growing steadily, thanks to its use in making bottles for water and soda. But North American companies have struggled to make money in the business. Eastman has complained to Wall Street about profitability woes, and Wellman, an Eastman competitor, hasn't turned a net profit since 2001.