Chemical mergers hitting new highs

A number of chemical companies are going into different business agreements such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and spin-offs. Statistics show that agreements for the first half of 1998 overpassed that of the first half of 1997. Chemical firms opt to go into such transactions for reasons such as sector consolidation, global market outreach, product expansion and additional technology. Transactions that have been announced in 1998 include the EVC and Norsk Hydro merger, the acquisition of Hoechst's Trevira polyester branch by Koch Industries and the joint venture between Occidental Chemical and Equistar.