Chemical Management
Arcadium Lithium | January 08, 2024
Arcadium Lithium plc announced the completion of the all-stock merger of equals between Allkem and Livent. The new, combined company is a leading global lithium chemicals producer committed to safely and responsibly harnessing the power of lithium to improve people's lives and accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. With roughly U.S. $1.9 billion of combined total revenue in 2022 and a global team of more than 2,600 employees, Arcadium Lithium is one of the largest integrated producers of lithium chemicals in the world.
Paul Graves, Chief Executive Officer of Arcadium Lithium, said: "As one of the leading global producers of lithium chemicals, Arcadium Lithium has the resources, scale and expertise to meet the growing needs of our rapidly changing industry. We are a leader in every major lithium extraction process – from hard rock mining to conventional pond and DLE-based brine processing – and vertically integrated, from resource to chemical manufacturing, in strategic locations around the world. This will open doors to new opportunities and strengthen our ability to deliver value to our customers, investors, employees and communities."
Mr. Graves continued: "It is a privilege for me to lead this great company forward with such an incredible team. This transformational merger would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of our integration planning teams over the past months. I want to thank them and all of our employees around the world for getting us to this position. Together, we are launching an exciting new company that combines the strengths and storied legacies of two incredible organizations, both with an wavering commitment to safe, responsible and sustainable operations. We look forward to building on this strong foundation and leading our industry forward."
Arcadium Lithium ordinary shares will begin trading today on the NYSE under the ticker "ALTM." Arcadium Lithium also maintains a foreign exempt listing on the ASX (via the issue of CHESS Depositary Instruments (CDIs) to Allkem shareholders) and will commence trading on a normal settlement basis on the ASX under the ticker "LTM" at 10:00am (AEDT) on January 5, 2024. Allkem shareholders received either: (a) one Arcadium Lithium ASX listed CDI; or (b) one Arcadium Lithium NYSE listed share depending where they resided and what election (if any) they had made for each Allkem ordinary share held, except for shareholders in certain ineligible jurisdictions, who will receive cash proceeds from the sale of the Arcadium Lithium CDIs in lieu of such CDIs after closing. Livent shareholders received 2.406 Arcadium Lithium NYSE listed ordinary shares for each Livent share held.
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Chemical Management
Charter Next Generation | January 30, 2024
Charter Next Generation (CNG), a leading provider of sustainable films, announced that it has expanded its GreenArrow portfolio with a new line of cavitated polyethylene (PE) films. Developed in collaboration with VOID Technologies (VOID), the new recycle-ready films meet the rapidly growing demand for flow wrap and confectionery applications. Using VOID's patented VO+™ PE Voiding Agent Masterbatch and Machine Direction Orientation (MDO) film processing, CNG has successfully developed high-performing PE film structures that are opaque yet compatible with existing PE recycling streams making more packaging suitable for recycling.
Adoption of MDO PE film is a rapidly growing industry trend as it enables recyclable, high-performing flexible packaging. By using VO+ Masterbatch, CNG can now produce thin gauge voided MDO PE films that offer a combination of low density and high opacity not achievable with mineral additives such as TiO2 pigments or CaCO3 cavitation agents. This innovation creates a unique PE-based recycle-ready alternative to conventional PP-based substrates that often require biaxial orientation.
"CNG continues to raise the bar and re-invent packaging with a sustainability-first mindset. Using VOID's patented VO+ technology enables us to achieve the high opacity, ease of processing, and recycle-ready performance we are targeting for these films. This in turn allows our customers to reduce their use of virgin materials and process their packaging in existing polyethylene film recycling streams," said Brent Greiner, Vice-President of Technology at Charter Next Generation.
The VO+ PE Masterbatch is added to PE resin to create nano and micro-scale voids, reducing density and creating high levels of opacity via light scattering through the voided structure. VOID's latest VO+ PE Masterbatch product is compliant with direct food contact standards in North America and Europe and has passed key recycling standards.
James Gibson, CEO of VOID Technologies, commented, "CNG is a highly innovative and forward-thinking company. We are delighted with this collaboration and to be part of launching this new generation of recycle-ready voided PE films. As we look to the future, we are excited to be working with CNG across a range of projects that directly address sustainability and recycling targets."
About Charter Next Generation
Charter Next Generation (CNG) is North America's leading producer of highly engineered solutions used in the food, consumer, healthcare, and industrial markets. Committed to a sustainability-first approach, CNG leverages material science to engineer materials that help companies meet and exceed their sustainability goals. Known for world-class manufacturing capabilities and an innovation-driven approach, CNG operates fifteen facilities and employs over 2,200 employees and is a proud partner of Ownership Works®—a nonprofit partnering with companies to enable shared ownership, granting employees a stake in the value they create.
About VOID Technologies
VOID is a materials science company accelerating the transition to more sustainable plastics and packaging. The company combines its VO+ cavitation technology and R&D labs to help plastic and packaging companies rapidly develop new innovative products with a reduced environmental footprint. VOID's extensively patented VO+ technology was first conceived as part of a research initiative at Kimberly-Clark. Soon after, in 2015, VOID was launched as an independent company. Today, VOID has R&D labs and a compound manufacturing facility based in Neenah, Wisconsin (USA) and has commercial teams in Canada, France, and the UK.
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Chemical Management
APA Corporation | January 04, 2024
APA Corporation and Callon Petroleum Company have entered into a definitive agreement under which APA will acquire Callon in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $4.5 billion, inclusive of Callon’s net debt. Under the terms of the transaction, each share of Callon common stock will be exchanged for a fixed ratio of 1.0425 shares of APA common stock. The transaction is expected to be accretive to all key financial metrics and add to APA’s inventory of high quality, short-cycle opportunities. Callon’s assets provide additional scale to APA’s operations across the Permian Basin, most notably in the Delaware Basin, where Callon has nearly 120,000 acres. On a pro forma basis, total company production exceeds 500,000 BOE per day and enterprise value increases to more than $21 billion.
Key Highlights
Combination of Callon’s Delaware-focused footprint with APA’s Midland-focused footprint provides scale and balance in the Permian Basin;
APA’s oil-prone acreage in the Midland and Delaware Basin combined will increase by more than 50% following the transaction;
Expected to be accretive on key financial and value metrics;
Estimated overhead, operational and cost-of-capital synergies to exceed $150 million annually; and
Additional scale anticipated to improve credit profile; pro forma balance sheet will remain strong with leverage at 1.1x net debt / adjusted EBITDAX.
Management Commentary
“This transaction is aligned with APA’s overall portfolio strategy and fits all the criteria of our disciplined approach to evaluating external growth opportunities. Callon has built a strong portfolio in the Permian Basin that is complementary to our existing Permian assets and rounds out our opportunity set in the Delaware,” said John J. Christmann IV, APA’s CEO and president. “The acquisition is accretive and unlocks value for both shareholder bases, as increased scale will enable us to realize significant overhead and cost-of-capital synergies. The pro forma footprint in the Permian will also create opportunities to capture meaningful operating synergies.”
“We are very proud of the significant steps we have taken to enhance Callon’s asset base, operational performance and balance sheet over the past several years,” said Joe Gatto, Callon’s president and CEO. “This combination with APA now provides for an enhanced value proposition for our shareholders built on their depth of experience and strong execution in the Permian Basin, flexibility for increased capital allocation, and ongoing delineation and optimization efforts. Importantly, I would like to personally thank each and every Callon employee for their role in building this company. I am very proud of this team and what we have achieved together.”
Combined Permian Asset Position and Preliminary 2024 Planned Activity
Pro forma average daily Permian Basin production was 311 Mboe/d in 3Q 2023, which represents a 48% increase from APA’s Permian Basin production on a standalone basis. APA's oil production as a percentage of BOE’s in the Permian increases from approximately 37% to 43% in 3Q 2023, on a pro forma basis.
APA will provide additional activity plans and details post closing.
Pro Forma APA Positioning
“APA has a proven ability to deliver strong results from its unconventional assets in the Permian Basin, and we look forward to building on the progress that the team at Callon has made within its asset base. This transaction is aligned with our strategy of maintaining and growing a diversified portfolio, underpinned by large-scale core areas of operation while continuing to build a portfolio of medium and longer-term exploration-driven development opportunities,” Christmann said.
Following the closing, the company’s worldwide pro forma production mix will be approximately 64% U.S. / 36% international.
APA’s global portfolio includes ongoing development on large-scale legacy assets in the U.S. and Egypt. The company is also advancing a FEED process for a large-scale FPSO development offshore Suriname. In addition to current production and development activities across the globe, APA maintains a differentiated exploration portfolio, which includes newly acquired large-scale blocks offshore Uruguay and onshore state-land leases in Alaska.
About APA
APA Corporation owns consolidated subsidiaries that explore for and produce oil and natural gas in the United States, Egypt and the United Kingdom and that explore for oil and natural gas offshore Suriname. APA posts announcements, operational updates, investor information and press releases on its website, www.apacorp.com. Additional details regarding Suriname, ESG performance and other investor-related topics are posted at investor.
About Callon Petroleum
Callon Petroleum Company is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition, exploration and sustainable development of high-quality assets in the Permian Basin in West Texas.
Pro forma enterprise value is derived from the addition of each company’s market capitalization based on closing stock prices on 1/3/24, plus the net debt of each company as of 9/30/23.
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Chemical Management
LyondellBasell | January 24, 2024
LyondellBasell (LYB), a global leader in the chemical industry, is proud to announce the release of a cross-linkable, all-in-one flame-retardant compound, Petrothene T3XL7420, which is expected to deliver considerable cost savings while streamlining manufacturing processes. This new product offering also improves the quality of end products for wire producers in the automotive and appliance industries. Based on customer demand and industry need, LyondellBasell designed this innovative compound to address the need to optimize production line speeds and enhance manufacturing efficiency.
Petrothene T3XL7420, is specifically formulated for use in Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) primary wire applications, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) thin wall applications, and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA) appliance wire. Petrothene T3XL7420 offers several benefits that make it an attractive option for wire producers, including enhanced cure kinetics, increased stiffness for easier small gauge wire assembly and better barrier performance compared to other Petrothene XL.
"Developing innovative solutions to address the ever-evolving needs of our customers is an important aspect of how we operate and continue to grow our market share," said Palmer Giddings, vice president Polyolefins at LyondellBasell. "Providing cost effective and efficient solutions that are UL and CSA certified, gives us a market advantage for this one-of-a-kind solution."
Petrothene T3XL7420 has undergone rigorous testing and certification processes to ensure its quality and reliability. With this latest development, LyondellBasell reinforces its position as a leading provider of innovative solutions for the wire and cable industry and expects this compound to become the product of choice for a wide range of automotive and appliance wiring applications.
About LyondellBasell
We are LyondellBasell – a leader in the global chemical industry creating solutions for everyday sustainable living. Through advanced technology and focused investments, we are enabling a circular and low carbon economy. Across all we do, we aim to unlock value for our customers, investors and society. As one of the world's largest producers of polymers and a leader in polyolefin technologies, we develop, manufacture and market high-quality and innovative products for applications ranging from sustainable transportation and food safety to clean water and quality healthcare.
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