Following clearance from the European Commission, Ineos Enterprises has completed its agreement to purchase one of Europe’s leading solvent manufacturers, Sasol Solvents Germany. The acquisition includes production facilities at Moers on the Lower Rhine, and Herne in Germany's industrial Ruhr district. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

The addition of Sasol’s German-based European Solvents businesses provides a complementary fit with the portfolio and expertise of Ineos and opens up new opportunities within its existing manufacturing sites in Germany, it says.

Both sites and their products will now be integrated into the new business to be called Ineos Solvents, itself a part of Ineos Enterprises.

Ethanol and isopropyl alcohol are produced at Herne and oxygenated solvents isopropyl alcohol (IPA), secondary butyl alcohol (SBA), and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) are produced at Moers. The Moers plant also makes plasticisers, synthetic resins and fine chemicals such as alkyl chlorides and aluminium organic compounds.

“We are extremely pleased that the acquisition of Sasol’s site has now completed to enable us to begin the integration of the business into Ineos Enterprises.” said Ashley Reed, CEO Ineos Enterprises. He went on to say that the addition of the solvents unit broadens Ineos’s portfolio and presents new opportunities for integration into some of its existing upstream sites in Germany.

Wolf Haenel COO (Chief Operating Officer) managing the new solvents business said, “This acquisition allows us to quickly expand our solvents offer giving us new opportunities for growth that will benefit our customers across Europe.”

Ineos will also continue to operate the Maleic Anhydride plant at the Moers site for the ongoing joint venture between Sasol and Huntsman. Ineos is a stand-alone business and a part of Ineos AG.