International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has completed its acquisition of the chlorvinyls assets divested by new European PVC market leader INOVYN. The new PVC joint venture of Ineos and Solvay was obliged to shed the assets in exchange for EU approval of the merger.

The activities now belonging to the newly named VYNOVA include the chlorine plants, the EDC/ VCM plants and the potassium hydroxide (KOH) business at Tessenderlo, Belgium, the PVC plant at Mazingarbe, France, the PVC plant at Beek, the Netherlands, the PVC and VCM plants at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and the EDC plant at Runcorn, UK.

ICIG said the membrane electrolysis plant at Runcorn will belong to a 50:50 joint venture between INOVYN and VYNOVA. The latter company will supply the former under a toll manufacturing arrangement for the proportion of the KOH business that INOVYN retains.

The acquired assets will form a new Chlorvinyls platform within ICIG, with total sales exceeding €850 million. It will complement ICIG’s fine chemicals and custom manufacturing platform WeylChem Group (€670 million in sales), the pharmaceuticals platform CordenPharma Group (€30 million in sales) and the ICIG Enterprises businesses (CarboTech, ENKA and Rütgers Organics with €110 million in sales.

Adding the vinyls businesses to its portfolio makes ICIG a leading European player both in the suspension polyvinyl chloride (S-PVC) and the KOH business,while pushing the investment group’s aggregated sales above €2 billion and the number of employees in Europe and the US to 6,000 people.