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[April 2004]
Lyondell and Millennium Announce Agreement to Combine
Lyondell Chemical Company (Houston, TX, USA) and Millennium Chemicals Inc (Hunt Valley, MD, USA) announced on 29 March 2004 that their boards of directors had approved - and the companies had executed - a definitive agreement for a stock-for-stock business combination of the two companies, expected to be tax-free to the shareholders of Millennium and the companies. The transaction will create North America's third largest independent, publicly traded chemical producer with combined pro forma 2003 revenues of more than US$11 billion and a market capitalisation of nearly US$4 billion.
After the close of the transaction, the company will be called Lyondell Chemical Company and will be headquartered in Houston, Texas. Dan Smith will continue as President and CEO and Dr William Butler will continue as independent Chairman of the Lyondell Board of Directors. Two independent members of Millennium's current Board will join the Lyondell Board, effective at the time of closing.
Millennium is the second largest producer of TiO2 in the world, the largest merchant seller of titanium tetrachloride and a major producer of zircon and zirconia, silica gel and cadmium-based pigments.
Lyondell is a leading producer of propylene oxide (PO), PO derivatives, and styrene monomers and MTBE as co-products of PO production. Through its current 70.5% interest in Equistar Chemicals (in which Millennium currently holds the 29.5% balance) it is also one of the largest producers of ethylene, propylene and polyethylene in North America and a leading producer of ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, high value-added specialty polymers and polymeric powder.
ENDS