Alpek acquires Omani PET producer Octal

Mexican petrochemical producer Alpek has finalised its acquisition of Oman-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) producer Octal.

Alpek acquired 100pc of Octal shares for $620mn on a debt-free basis, securing the financing through free cash flow and dedicated bank loans. It assumed control of Octal's operations on 1 June.

"Alpek expects an accretive ebitda [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation] effect of approximately $120mn from these assets throughout the remainder of 2022, largely based on the better-than-expected polyester market conditions prevalent in recent months," the company said.

The two companies first signed the acquisition agreement on 1 February.

Octal is a major global producer of PET sheet with over 1mn t/yr of installed capacity, spread across four sites. Octal produces 400,000t of PET sheet and 576,000t of PET resin at its Salalah site in Oman, 33,000t of PET sheet recycling at its US site and 11,000t of PET thermoform packaging at its Riyadh site in Saudi Arabia.

Alpek is one of the largest integrated PTA and PET producers globally, with an installed capacity of over 5.8mn t/yr. It operates 32 plants across Mexico, the US, the UK, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Canada.

By Ieva Paldaviciute