Westlake Chemical Completes Acquisition of Axiall

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Houston, Texas-based chemical producer Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) says it has completed the acquisition of fellow chemical producer Axiall Corporation (Atlanta, Georgia) in a deal valued at $3.8 billion.

Westlake Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Chao said, "We are pleased to complete this important strategic acquisition and to welcome Axiall and its talented team into the Westlake family of companies. This transaction aligns two remarkable companies, creates a company with greater financial and operational flexibility and accelerates our growth strategy."

Part of the growth will come from Axiall's part ownership of an ethylene production unit being constructed in Westlake, Louisiana, near Axiall's existing manufacturing plant in Calcasieu Parish. The $2 billion project is being constructed by LACC LLC, a joint venture of Axiall and Lotte Chemical Corporation (Seoul, South Korea). The project broke ground this summer and is expected to be completed in 2019. Axiall planned to use its portion of the ethylene to make vinyl chloride monomer, while Lotte's portion of the ethylene will be used as feedstock for a nearby monoethylene glycol plant, which is expected to be completed around the same time as the ethylene cracker.

The merger of Axiall and Westlake ends a four-year pursuit on Westlake's part and will create the third-largest chlor-alkali producer and the second-largest polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer in North America.

In addition to the Axiall/Lotte ethylene unit, Industrial Info is tracking 70 other projects belonging to Westlake and Axiall with a combined total investment value of more than $471.9 million, including upgrades and expansions to Westlake's own ethylene units in Louisiana and Kentucky.

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