By Anthony Harrup
MEXICO CITY–Mexican petrochemicals company Alpek SAB agreed to buy PET sheet maker Octal Holding for $620 million, boosting its own PET plastic business with an additional 1 million metric tons of annual capacity.
Alpek said the acquisition will close the gap in meeting its emissions-reduction targets as Octal owns technology that eliminates several energy-intensive steps in the manufacture of PET sheet while lowering production costs.
“PET sheet represents a highly attractive opportunity for Alpek, serving the growing needs for 100% recyclable packaging,” Alpek said. “Growth rates through 2025 are also expected to be strong at 6.4% per year.”
Octal facilities include annual capacity of 400,000 metric tons of PET sheet and 576,000 tons of PET resin in the Salalah Free Zone of Oman, as well as recycling and packaging capacity in Cincinnati and Saudi Arabia.
Alpek, a unit of Monterrey, Mexico-based conglomerate Alfa SAB, will finance the acquisition with cash and bank loans. It expects the deal to close in the first half of the year and contribute about $135 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
