Deal close for Artenius UK PET, PTA assets - source

13 January 2010 17:59  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Administrators for the Artenius UK polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) assets in the UK are close to securing a deal with a major player in the business, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday.

There has been persistent talk on both the supply and customer side of the business that Korea’s KP Chemicals was in final negotiations to secure the production facilities located at Wilton in the northeast of England.

Sources suggested it had been talking to customers of the plants, some of which had moved to other suppliers.

It was believed that only unnamed legal issues remained before a deal on the takeover was closed.

Administrators Deloitte were unavailable for comment on Wednesday.

Artenius UK went into administration in July. Owners La Seda de Barcelona closed the 500,000 tonne/year PTA plant at the site as it cut back operations sharply as part of a wide-ranging restructuring plan.

The plant’s closure and the laying off of 200 workers at the Artenius UK site was a blow to the Wilton petrochemical complex. Artenius UK currently has a workforce of 45.

Restart of the mothballed plants could be achieved relatively easily but would be reliant on re-employing a sufficiently strong workforce for their operation.

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By: Nigel Davis
+44 20 8652 3214

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