It is a well any problem today of Lufthansa stockThe flop of the PS this weekend demonstratedWe have become explorers of unknown landsHe will back its activities in the United States and AsiaIn essence it is does not Keynesian and said happily structuralistThe mass of water to a depth of 90 m is frigidIts success was before all political and mediaThis could in the future scaring some lendersAs many miles yet to go to really reach the portMany devicesThe assessment is still shortLen Blavatnik missed his bet. After to be offered in 2005 Shell and BASF activities in plastics, the American billionaire of Russian origin had decided in mid-2007 to become one of the Kings of this sector by putting his hand on the American chemist Lyondell Chemical. A transaction of 12.7 billion (EUR 9.3 billion) designed to create LyondellBasell, "one of the first chemical companies of the world", also active in refining: the control group and the former Shell of Berre Refinery, near Marseille. But with the crisis, this financial poker kick proved loser.
Yesterday, the new ensemble, based in the Netherlands announced filed balance sheet. For the moment, only its U.S. operations (approximately 7,800 people) and a financial structure in Germany, Germany Basell Holdings, are involved. The use of Chapter 11 of us Bankruptcy Act must restructure activities across the Atlantic, essentially inherited from Lyondell Chemical, under the control of justice.
"During the period of restructuring, our goal is to continue our operations and our relationships with our customers and our suppliers in a normal manner," said Volker Trautz, the Director-General. To this end, the American subsidiary of LyondellBasell received funding of $ 8 billion, with 750 million from Access Industries, Len Blavatnik's private holding company.
Including this in France
How the number three global petrochemical, making $ 54 billion in annual sales with some 16,000 staff, could then The Group appeared solid, with an industrial presence in 19 countries on 5 continents, sales in 120 States and enviable positions in several petrochemical intermediates. It is thus the world of polypropylene and polyolefins, point the third largest polyethylene and has 373.000 barrels per day refining capacity. In addition to its plants in the United States 30, LyondellBasell is very present in Europe. Particularly in France, in Montataire (Oise), where it has a technical centre in Fos-sur-Mer with two chemical plants (approximately 350 persons) and Berre-L'Etang (Bouches), where he resumed early April the Shell refinery and its 1,500 employees.
The weight of the debt
But the Group was supported with pincers from a collapse of demand for its products (such as polyolefins and propylene, entering in the composition of the plastics) and an increase in the prices of its raw materials. "The month of December was particularly difficult where many customers have delayed their orders to reduce their stocks," said Volker Trautz. Thus, in the United States, where the filing of balance will affect dozens of sites, platform refining and petrochemistry of Houston suffered the fall of orders of chemicals, highly dependent on the automobile, construction and electronics industries.
On the other hand, the group working under 26 billion dollars in debt, particularly due to the acquisition of Lyondell Chemical. Its renegotiation is made difficult by the tensions currently prevailing in the credit market. The banks UBS, ABN Amro, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, the Fund Apollo but also the industrial groups PDVSA, Sonatrach, ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical are among the some 25,000 creditors of the pétrochimiste.
Already exposed via LyondellBasell, Dow Chemical, the number an American Chemistry, and compatriot DuPont have also proven by the crisis. Dow Chemical has thus decided early December permanently close 20 plants, drawing a line under 5,000 positions, and to temporarily suspend production of 180 sites. As DuPont, he launched a severe restructuring which will lead to eliminate 2,500 jobs.
