SABIC finalizes buy of GE unit

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has announced the completion of its purchase of GE Plastics from General Electric for a purchase price of $11.6 billion. The announcement was made by SABIC Chairman, HH Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud.

The former GE unit is now SABIC Innovative Plastics, a new business addition to SABIC that will focus on the global growth of thermoplastics and engineering plastics to serve the automotive, electronics, health care, and construction sectors. Brian Gladden has been appointed CEO of SABIC Innovative Plastics.

Following earlier acquisitions of DSM and Huntsman's petrochemicals businesses in Europe, SABIC now has more than 30,000 employees. The company has an expanded global network of manufacturing facilities, research and technology centers and sales offices. SABIC has a presence in more than 100 countries.

SABIC Innovative Plastics is a global supplier of plastic resins and compounds widely used in automotive, health care, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building and construction, telecommunications and optical media applications. The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP line of high-performance specialty compounds, under brand names including Lexan, Cycolac, Geloy, Noryl, Cycoloy, Valox and Ultem.

The Specialty Film and Sheet division of SABIC Innovative Plastics manufactures Lexan sheet and film products used worldwide. The dedicated automotive organization works in five primary segments: body panels and glazing; under the hood applications; component; structures and interiors; and lighting.