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Chemicals

The competitive landscape in the chemicals sector is changing quickly - and businesses need to adapt fast

Rapid growth in emerging markets, significant new market players and unprecedented levels of M&A are generating both challenges and opportunities for chemicals companies and those investing in the sector.

At Linklaters, we understand and can support our clients in addressing some of the key issues including:
  • fast changing competitive landscape with the recent M&A spike and the break-up of the traditional chemicals conglomerate
  • shift in global sector economics with the supply base moving west and the demand base moving east
  • extraterritorial reach of national laws which have far reaching implications for global businesses

We advise chemicals companies and those investing in the sector on a wide range of corporate, M&A and finance matters and we have a strong regulatory team who are extremely well placed to advise on sector-specific issues such as product and trade regulations.

Through our long history of advising clients in the chemicals sector and our recent roles on three of the four ‘mega-mergers’ we understand how the chemicals sector works and what drives the companies operating and investing in this space. This means that we do not need to spend time getting to grips with the basic issues and are able to provide you with informed, targeted and commercial advice from the outset, saving you time and money.

Recent experience includes advising:

Commodity chemicals and petrochemicals

  • BP on the $5bn sale of its Acetyls and Aromatics businesses to INEOS, the global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products
  • Linde on its strategic partnership with SipChem in Saudi Arabia
  • Export credit agencies and other financial institutions on the SATORP Jubail refining and petrochemical US$14bn project in Saudi Arabia
  • Reliance Petroleum on the financing of the new US$6bn refinery and associated polypropylene plant in India
  • INEOS on the establishment of a new polyolefins trading business for a major chemicals player across multiple jurisdictions

Industrials and speciality chemicals

  • Linde on the global antitrust elements of the US$42.5bn merger of equals with Praxair
  • BASF SE on the €3.1bn sale of its construction chemicals business to Lone Star
  • Dow Chemical Company on the EU merger filings required for its $18.8bn acquisition of Rohm and Haas 
  • Covestro on the acquisition of the Resins & Functional Materials business of Royal DSM for €1.61bn
  • Solvay on the US$5.5bn merger agreement with Cytec and on the subsequent reorganisation of its corporate structure

Life sciences and Agrichemicals

  • Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company on the acquisition of shares in three agricultural nutrient companies from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation
  • Bayer on the US$57bn financing to support its proposed acquisition of agrochemical company Monsanto
  • HSBC and other lenders on the debt financing for ChemChina on the US$46bn acquisition of Syngenta
  • Bayer on the carve-out of its plastic division Bayer Material Science (now Covestro) with 60 countries involved
  • Merck on its new €2bn syndicated multicurrency revolving credit facility agreement
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