IOI to buy India’s Pan Century Oleochemicals

07 December 2006 23:14  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW YORK (ICIS news)--Malaysian palm oil and oleochemical player IOI Group is acquiring Pan Century Oleochemicals and Pan Century Edible Oils for Malaysian ringgit (M$)423m ($119.2m), IOI said on Thursday.

 

The acquisition is expected to be completed by first quarter 2007, the company said.

 

India’s Aditya Birla Group is Pan Century’s largest stakeholder.

 

“The proposed acquisition is a timely opportunity for IOI as it has been operating its existing oleochemical plants at full capacity for the past two years and has been on the lookout for the best option to expand and consolidate its position in the oleochemical industry,” IOI said.

 

Pan Century operates a 1m tonne/year palm oil refinery, a 230,000 tonne/year fatty acid plant and a 55,000 tonne/year soap noodle plant at Pasir Gudang, Malaysia. The facilities are adjacent to IOI’s specialty fats and refinery operations.

 

“This will provide IOI with a competitive edge in terms of logistics, product quality and more strategic options to optimize utilization of palm oil fractions in response to changing market scenarios,” IOI said.

 

The combined companies’ fatty acid capacity of 700,000 tonnes/year would make IOI Group the largest vegetable oil-based fatty acid producer in the world, according to IOI.

 

“There is also potential for expansion of the integrated supercomplex on the remaining 11 acres of adjacent vacant land with respect to the existing downstream operations as well as potential addition of a new downstream operation,” the company said.

 

Pan Century Edible Oils had 2005 revenues of M$1.57bn, while Pan Century Oleochemicals had revenues of M$285.5m.

By: Doris de Guzman
+1 713 525 2653

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