US Trinseo to start sales process for styrenics businesses in Q1 ’22

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Trinseo has started exploring the divestures of its styrenics businesses and plans to start a formal sales process in the first quarter of 2022, US-based engineered materials and latex binders producer said on Friday.

The scope of the sales process will include the company’s Feedstocks and Polystyrene segments as well as its 50% stake in the Americas Styrenics joint venture. Chevron Phillips Chemical owns the remaining stake in the joint venture.

The company had identified those three as targets for possible divestitures.

“The separation of the styrenics businesses would represent another key step in our transformation toward becoming a specialty materials and sustainable solutions provider,” said Frank Bozich, CEO. ” We will continue to prioritise investments in higher growth, higher margin and lower earnings volatility areas such as Engineered Materials and CASE with an ongoing focus on sustainability, including the continued decrease in our CO2 intensity through various initiatives including the transformation of our portfolio.”

CASE stands for coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers.

The company has been active on the M&A front. In September it acquired acrylic materials company Aristech Surfaces for $445m. In May, it completed its $1.36bn acquisition of Arkema’s polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) business. On the divestiture side, it is selling its synthetic rubber business to Synthos for $491m in a deal expected to be completed in 2022.

Now it appears Trinseo is due for a pause when it comes to major M&A activity, according to an earlier interview with ICIS.

“We’ve done a lot this year and are now must digest and integrate these acquisitions. Our focus in on integration right now – not on being more acquisitive,” Bozich said in that earlier interview.

“We are very happy with where we are on these two acquisitions and there’s a lot of opportunity for organic growth and investment. There’s nothing missing from the PMMA portfolio when it comes to technologies such as sheet and resin compounding,” he added.

Trinseo’s other segments are Latex Binders, Engineered Materials and Base Plastics.

Base Plastics makes makes acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) and polycarbonate (PC).

Engineered Materials makes thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), PC compounds, ABS compounds and blends of PC.

Latex Binders makes styrene butadiene latex and styrene acrylate latex.

Additional reporting by Joseph Chang

Thumbnail image shows a cup made of polystyrene.