LONDON — INEOS has reached an agreement with Eastman Chemical Company to purchase the Eastman Texas City site, including the 600k mt acetic acid plant and all associated third-party activities on the site, for circa $500 million.

Eastman and INEOS have also entered into an MOU to explore options for a longterm supply agreement for vinyl acetate monomer.

David Brooks, CEO of INEOS Acetyls, comments, “We are delighted to announce this strategic acquisition which will help drive our global ambition for our acetyls business. The site is ideally placed to take advantage of competitively priced feedstocks which will help support the growth of our business and sustainable future of the site.”

Currently, INEOS licenses its leading Cativa^® Acetic Acid Technology to Eastman Chemical Texas City for production of acetic acid at the site.

All current employees on the Eastman Texas City site will transfer over to INEOS upon completion of the transaction. The plasticizers unit on the site will continue to be owned by Eastman but will be operated and maintained by INEOS from closing.

The deal is targeted to close before the end of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals.

For more information, visit ineos.com.