Mitsubishi Rayon to acquire Lucite International

The Board of Lucite International Group Ltd., (Southampton, UK; www.lucite.com), has announced that the company will be acquired by Mitsubishi Rayon Co. for a total cash consideration of approximately $1.6 billion. The purchase is subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities, and is expected to be completed by the end of January 2009. Lucite International is a leading manufacturer of methyl methacrylate (MMA). The company was formed from the consolidation of the acrylics businesses of ICI and DuPont in 1993, and has been majority owned by Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP, since 1999. Lucite owns the MMA production route known as Alpha technology. The first Alpha plant has recently begun to manufacture MMA in Singapore and will be fully operational by the end of this year (for more information click here). The new plant with a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) is located on Jurong Island in Singapore and will supply customers in Asia, where demand for MMA has grown rapidly. The company says that Alpha technology offers 40% savings over existing technologies in both construction and production. The process uses readily available commodity chemicals (ethylene, carbon monoxide and methanol) as raw materials…