Huntsman acquires Laffans Petrochemicals

04-Apr-11

Huntsman Corp has acquired Gujarat-based chemicals producer Laffans Petrochemicals, and has also taken the ownership of the company's 60,000 ton ethylene oxide derivatives facility at Ankleshwar. Laffans ethylene oxide derivatives unit set up in 1994, had revenues in excess of $50 million in 2010. The Ankleshwar plant was set up under technical assistance from Reliance Industries and is in proximity to the Hazira plant. The unit operates the largest loop reactor in the country and its glycol ethers and acetates unit has a capacity of 30,000 tpa. Huntsman India has its facilities at Navi Mumbai and has been having a technical collaboration with Laffans for the past two years. India contributes to a little over 3% of its global revenue of US$9.2 bln in 2010. News of the Laffans acquisition follows another recent Asian announcement from Huntsman Performance Products outlining a US$70 mln investment in a capacity expansion program at its polyetheramine plant in Singapore. Commenting on the acquisition, Peter R. Huntsman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Huntsman Corporation, said, "This acquisition is a continuation of our strategy to build our Asian business. We look forward to integrating this business and further expanding our Indian business."