South Korea’s SK Global Chemical Co. has completed acquisition of functional polyolefin business from French chemical firm Arkema S.A., gaining traction for its growth vision through high value-added products.

The completion of the acquisition comes after the Korean chemical company announced in October last year that it was buying the functional polyolefin business from Arkema at 335 million euros ($375.9 million).

The functionalized polyolefins are thermoplastic materials used in various applications ranging from packaging films to impact modifiers for engineering plastics in automobiles and electronics.

With the acquisition, SK Global Chemical now owns four products - ethylene acrylic copolymer, EA Terpolymer, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer and maleic anhydride grafted (MAH-g) polymer – along with related production technology, trademarks and human resources, plus three production plants in France.

While the global packaging market is estimated to grow by over 6 percent every year, the plastic polymer market where the Korean chemical company’s newly acquired business belongs is projected to reach $35 billion next year from $27 billion in 2016, according to SK Global Chemical.

By Won Ho-sup and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]