THE owner of the Ineos Chlor plant at Runcorn was yesterday reported to be in talks with Middle Eastern and Chinese investors that could lead to a part sale of the debt-laden business.
Site owner Ineos, which is Britain’s largest private company, is struggling with £6.4bn borrowings which the founder, Jim Ratcliffe, built up buying assets from the likes of BP and ICI.
Yesterday it was reported that Saudia Arabian chemicals group Sabic and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company were among potential investors. The company acknowledged it was in preliminary talks but refused to confirm the names.
The Hampshire chemicals group has agreed a five-year debt refinancing plan with its lenders. Part of that deal requires £1bn to be repaid by 2011.
Also earlier this year, Ineos sold its Runcorn-based Ineos Flor business to Mexico’s Mexichem for euro350m. Ineos has sales of £30bn and employs 15,000 staff in 19 countries.
Ineos has recently announced a major investment in new power generation facilities at Runcorn.
The Ineos business includes the Graingemouth oil refinery in Scotland.
Ineos’s troubles stem from falling bulk chemical prices..
