Celanese Corp. (Dallas, Tex.; www.celanese.com) announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire India-based Next Polymers Ltd., one of the country’s largest domestic engineering thermoplastics (ETP) compounders.
Next Polymers specializes in custom compounding of various ETP materials and is headquartered in Mumbai, India, with an approximate 20 kilo tons per annum compounding production facility in Silvassa, located in the union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The company has extensive experience in compounding polymers with post-industrial content, an increasingly important capability for Celanese that reinforces our commitment to waste minimization and sustainability.
“Next Polymers complements our rapidly growing India business to further establish Celanese as a leader in the Indian ETP market by broadening our ability to serve nylon and other engineered materials customers in a high-growth region,” said Scott Sutton, Chief Operating Officer. “Additionally, this acquisition further supports the company’s global manufacturing base by adding a world-class domestic compounding facility with 10 production lines to support our local customers, leverage a potential export base, and expand our domestic ETP capabilities in a market that is growing at a 15 percent annual growth rate.”
“This is a landmark moment for the JP Group of companies and I believe it’s an excellent move by Celanese in acquiring our compounding company, Next Polymers, considering the rapidly growing engineering thermoplastics market demand in India,” said V. P. Shukla, CEO of JP Group of companies. “This acquisition of Next Polymers also offers our employees excellent growth opportunities as part of a global company; and we will continue the decade-long Celanese / JP Polymers distribution relationship, allowing customers to benefit from the wide range of Celanese and Next branded products.”
Celanese expects to operate Next Polymer’s thermoplastic compounding product portfolio and production capabilities within the Celanese engineered materials business to include the following polymers, all marketed under the Next Polymers Ltd., brand:
- Nylon 6 and Nylon 66: for automotive, electrical/electronic and consumer applications
- Polypropylene: for automotive and electrical/electronic applications
- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene: for automotive and industrial applications
- Polycarbonate: for automotive, electrical/electronic and industrial applications
- Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA): for automotive applications
Celanese expects to complete the transaction early in the first quarter of 2019, pending customary closing conditions. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time. Until closing, Celanese and Next Polymers Ltd., will continue to operate as independent businesses.