Eastman Chemical To Sell Its Texas City Operations To INEOS Acetyls

(RTTNews) - Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) announced Thursday it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Texas City Operations to INEOS Acetyls, a global manufacturer and supplier of acetic acid and related chemicals owned by the INEOS Group.

The total sale price of $490 million consists of approximately $415 million cash at closing and the remainder in equal installments on the first and second anniversaries of the closing.

The sale, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The proceeds from the divestiture in the near term are expected to be used for debt repayment. The company expects the sale to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in 2024.

Texas City Operations is currently part of Eastman's Chemical Intermediates segment. Eastman will retain ownership of its plasticizer business at the site, which INEOS will operate for Eastman as part of this agreement.

Eastman and INEOS have also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore options for a long-term agreement for supplying vinyl acetate monomer to Eastman.

Eastman will continue to manufacture acetyls at its Tennessee Operations in Kingsport.

Beginning in the third quarter of 2023 and until sale, the assets of the Texas City acetyl operations will be reported as held for sale.