Eastman Sells PET Business to DAK Americas

Columbia, SC, Nov. 2, 2010 -- Eastman Chemical has agreed to sell its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin business to DAK Americas for $600 million, according to Chemical & Engineering News.

The sale includes two PET plants and a facility that makes the raw material purified terephthalic acid (PTA), all in Columbia, South Carolina. Eastman put the site up for sale in April after earlier selling off PET plants in Europe and Latin America.

Eastman’s performance polymers division, which is largely the PET business, lost money in 2008, 2009, and the first half of 2010. Its first-half sales were $416 million, according to C&E News.

DAK Americas, a subsidiary of the Mexican conglomerate Alfa, was formed in 2001 to acquire DuPont’s polyester resins and PTA business. DAK later built PET facilities in North and South Carolina and acquired Eastman’s PET plants in Mexico and Argentina.

Chase Willett, director of polyester and polyester raw materials at the consulting firm Chemical Market Associates, says the deal will make DAK the U.S.’s PET leader, giving it roughly one-third of the industry’s capacity.

The deal will continue the shift of the U.S.’s PET industry to foreign control. In addition to DAK, current manufacturers in the U.S. include Indonesia’s Indorama, Italy’s Mossi & Ghisolfi, and Taiwan’s Nan Ya Plastics. Another producer, U.S.-based Invista, announced over the summer that it is considering the sale of its PET business.

Both existing players and newcomers have expressed interest in the Invista business, Willett says.