Thailand-based chemical company, Indorama, is still in talks with Brazil's Ultrapar about acquiring its subsidiary, Oxiteno.

Some context:

Indorama's primary business is in polyethylene terephthalate (PET). That stuff is produced by reacting terephthalic acid (PTA) and ethylene glycol (MEG). Over the last decade, Indorama has made various acquisitions in the US that have strengthened its feedstock market position. The company is now looking at Oxiteno's MEG production (and everything else they make) like a snack.

Looking forward:

Should the deal go down, it would make Indorama the largest ethoxylate (surfactant precursor) producer in the Americas. You can expect an update within a month or so given Indorama's hopes of making a quick deal. If the talks fall through Indorama will probably have to build its own assets (which is not the trend for Asian chemical companies).

Read the press release here.

Battery materials start-up, Group14 Technologies, has announced the formation of a joint venture with South Korea's SK Group to build a new silicon-carbon anode manufacturing site in South Korea.

Why South Korea?

Last December, SK Group led a $17 million Series B funding round for Group14. The South Korean conglomerate wants to bring Group14's technology back home to serve South Korea's rapidly expanding battery industry. Group14 is on board because the country is home to many of its potential customers, and establishing global production makes the company more resilient to supply chain shocks.

Wait, what are they making?

Typically, lithium-ion batteries use graphite as the anode (made with carbon from companies like Phillips 66) and a lithium metal oxide for the cathode. Graphite is used because it works well—but silicon would work much better if it didn't swell to 4x its size when soaked with lithium ions. Instead of using silicon alone, Group14 has developed a silicon-carbon composite, called SCC55, to replace that graphite anode.

One more thing:

If any of this sounds familiar, that's good, because we've talked about Group14 a couple of times before. Most recently when they started production in the US, and earlier when they struck a deal with a silane gas producer.

Read the press release here.

State-owned Chinese chemical company, ChemChina, has filed for an IPO to sell a 20% stake of its agrichemicals subsidiary Syngenta with the hope of raising $10 billion.

A little history:

Back in 2016, ChemChina acquired Syngenta (a Swiss company at the time) for a mere $43 billion. That purchase ended up giving ChemChina more debt than it could handle, leading to the company's pending merger with Sinochem.

So, what now?

Following the successful IPO, like any company that raises cash, ChemChina will be looking to "expand and renovate its production" and "implement strategic acquisitions". The company has already merged Syngenta with Isreal's ADAMA (last year) and Sinochem's very own fertilizer and seed business. $10 billion, plus a little more debt, could fetch the company quite a few changes.

Read more here on Nikkei Asia.