Chevron Phillips Chemical Co has offered to acquire Nova Chemicals Corp. for more than $15 billion, Reuters reported based on information from people familiar with the matter.
Nova Chemicals is owned by Mubadala Investment Co., located in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The state-owned investor has been scouting for a buyer since the beginning of the year, according to reports.
Reuters stated that another bidder for Nova Chemicals may yet emerge. Mubadala could also decide to keep a stake in Nova Chemicals in a deal, the report added.
Chevron Phillips Chemical would gain scale and expand its footprint through the acquisition of Nova Chemicals, whose expandable polystyrene and resins are used in a range of industries, from construction to packaging, Reuters reported.
Founded in 2000, Chevron Phillips Chemical has 31 production facilities located in the United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Belgium. It had total revenue last year of $12 billion.
More recently, Chevron Phillips proposed a $5.86 billion project near Beaumont in Orange, Texas. If the project moves forward, construction would start in 2020, peaking at 3,500 workers, and conclude in 2024, according to January 2019 documents.
NOVA Chemicals Corporation produces and sells polyethylene and styrenic polymer resins in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries.
Nova also is involved in multibillion-dollar Gulf Coast projects through Novealis Holdings LLC, a joint venture with Vienna-based Borealis AG. Novealis is part of a 50-50 joint venture with Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA Inc. That JV — Houston-based Bayport Polymers LLC, also known as Baystar — has started construction on the 625-metric-ton-per-year polyethylene unit in Pasadena and a 1 million-ton-per-year steam cracker in Port Arthur.
