Two Big Deals Are Finalized

As May turned into June, Mitsubishi Rayon finally closed on its $1.6 billion purchase of acrylic plastics maker Lucite International, while private equity group SK Capital completed its $50 million deal to buy Solutia's nylon business. Delays in receiving Chinese government approval kept Mitsubishi's deal to buy Lucite from private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners from closing in January as originally expected. Completion of the deal makes Mitsubishi the world's largest producer of methyl methacrylate. SK completed its acquisition of Solutia's unprofitable nylon business only a month later than originally planned. The business, which had sales of $1.8 billion in 2008, has been renamed Ascend Performance Materials.