ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, Others Eye Shell’s US Chemical Assets in $8B Deal
Major Bidders and Strategic Implications for Shell’s US Chemical Assets
Interest from Leading Oil and Chemical Companies
Aug 24 (Reuters) - Oil major Shell has drawn interest from potential bidders, including ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell, for its U.S. chemical assets that could fetch up to $8 billion, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Private Equity and International Players Join the Race
Private equity firm Apollo Global Management and the chemicals arm of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation have also expressed interest in the assets, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter, as Shell seeks to divest underperforming chemical plants.
Responses from Companies Involved
ExxonMobil declined to comment on the report, while Shell, LyondellBasell, Apollo, and Kuwait Petroleum did not respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.
Details of Shell’s US Chemical Business
Shell's U.S. chemicals business includes plants at four sites in Louisiana, Texas and Pennsylvania that produce chemicals used in plastics, detergents and pharmaceuticals, the FT added.
Bidding Process and Valuation
Potential buyers submitted non-binding offers last month, the newspaper said, with bids ranging from proposals for the entire business to parts of it.
Asset Valuation Compared to Shell’s Investment
The reported price represents a steep discount to the amount of capital Shell has invested in the facilities, according to the FT.
Shell’s Broader Divestment Strategy
Earlier this month, Shell agreed to sell its onshore renewables power business in Europe to TotalEnergies, as the British energy major continues to scale back its low-carbon investments and sharpen its focus on upstream operations and trading.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
