Page 58 - Plastics News November 2018

Business news

LCY Chemical purchases BioAmber assets, Sarnia biorefinery

CY Biotechnology Inc., a division of Taiwan-based LCY qualified bidder. On July 30, BioAmber announced, that
LChemical Corp., has purchased the assets of BioAmber subject to court approval, it would solicit liquidators to bid
Inc., a bankrupt renewable chemicals company that built on the acquisition and disposal of the company’s assets,
a biobased succinic acid plant in Sarnia, Ontario. On including the Sarnia plant.
Oct. 25, PWC issued a press release in its capacity as the
court-appointed monitor for BioAmber announcing that BASF offers 'remedy package'
the company completed the sale of certain of its assets to
LCY Biotechnology as of Oct. 22. “These assets comprised for Solvay nylon business
all of the company’s assets, save and except for the cash,
accounts receivable and inventory of the company, and acquisition
also excluded certain U.S. based office equipment,” said
PWC in the release. “The purchaser did not seek the erman chemical giant
assignment of the company’s contracts, which meant GBASF S.E. has offered a
that certain intellectual property under license from third remedy package to the European
parties was also not transferred to the purchaser.”The Commission to win approval for
transaction was approved by the Quebec Superior Court its $1.85 billion acquisition of
of Justice on Sept. 18 and by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Solvay S.A.'s nylon business.
for the District of Delaware on August . 9. PWC said the As part of the package, BASF
liquidation of BioAmber’s assets will result in little to no will refrain from acquiring
residual value for non-secured creditors and no residual some of the assets and certain
value for equity investors. technologies, and Solvay will
divest those operations separately, said Juergen Becky,
BioAmber filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in BASF senior vice president for performance materials
May 2013 and began construction on its Sarnia plant in Europe. "We are at a so-called phase two stage of the
September of that year. The facility, which produced process. This is a typical merger clearance process
biobased succinic acid, began operations in October 2015. where concerns about an M&A activity are being
Earlier in May 4, 2018, BioAmber announced it had filed investigated. And here there is a concern that BASF may
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. The company’s become too big a power [in the market]," Becky said.
two Canadian subsidiaries, BioAmber Sarnia Inc., and
BioAmber Canada Inc., made similar filings under Canadian At this point, the European Commission will need to
bankruptcy laws. At that time, the company indicated go to another market test to gauge the opinions of
it planned to strengthen its financial heath and solidify customers. BASF expects a response in early 2019.
long-term business prospects. On June 18, the company Becky did not specify the assets that will not be
announced it had received formal approval from a court acquired, but he said that it would include "innovation
capabilities and manufacturing assets of Solvay's
intermediate and engineering plastics business in
Europe." Parts of the deal that cover businesses in Asia
and South America will not be impacted by the remedy
package. "The whole chemical process for nylon 6/6
starts with ADN, which is the most decisive molecule in
the whole value chain. The next step would be to make
hexamethylenediamine (HMD), which is what we are
in Quebec for debtor-in-possession financing that was to
enable a sales and investor solicitation process (SISP), doing at our plant in Seal Sands in the United Kingdom,"
which began June 1. It also allowed the Sarnia plant to Becky explained. The process then moves forward by
continue operations. The SISP process, however, concluded adding adipic acid and diamine making AH salt, which
without an acceptable offer being received from a will then produce the nylon 6/6 base polymer. "

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