LyondellBasell Industries Research Articles

MOVING FORWARD BY BENDING BACKWARD

A NEW COMPANY has elbowed its way into the upper ranks of the global chemical industry through the daring purchase of a firm that itself didn’t shy from taking risks to become bigger. But Basell Polyolefins’ acquisition of Lyondell is more about back-integration and filling in portfolio gaps than it is about size alone. The new company, LyondellBasell Industries, is the product of a $20 billion deal completed late last year. Its combined sales of $44.8 billion in 2007 make it one of the five largest chemical companies in the world. LyondellBasell, like Basell before it, is the chemical arm of the privately held industrial conglomerate Access Industries, led by the Russian-reared and American-educated and -naturalized industrialist Len Blavatnik. Access’ other holdings include the aluminum maker UC Rusal; a 50% stake in the Russian oil company TNK-BP; and media, telecommunications, and real estate companies. Those affiliated with Blavatnik are quick to point out the distinction ...