이 기사는 2021년 04월 20일 07:46 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Lotte Chemical has failed to acquire JSR Corporation’s elastomers business, with rival bidder ENEOS named as the preferred buyer of the business.

The Seoul-based company was among the shortlisted bidders for the elastomers division of Japan’s JSR, which decided to offload the business as part of its restructuring. The sale was managed by US-based investment bank GCA Advisors.

The division produces synthetic rubber, anode material binders for secondary batteries and latex. JSR is globally the fifth largest producer of solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR), with production facilities in Japan, Thailand and Hungary. Its annual production of synthetic rubber amounts to 600,000 tons, including 170,000 tons of SSBR.

SSBR is considered environmentally friendly because high performance tires made with this material has low rolling resistance, which contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Lotte Chemical wanted to buy the division to beef up its SSBR business, industry watchers said. In 2013, the chemical company and Italy’s Versalis announced a partnership to build a SSBR plant, which started operations in 2017 with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons. But the business is still unprofitable.

JSR’s elastomers business recorded revenue of 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in 2019, which accounted for nearly 38% of the total revenue. But it turned to red that year. The business was also hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with its operating loss widening to 14 billion yen ($129 million) on revenue of 131 billion yen in 2020, down 26.7% a year earlier.

LG Chem was approached by JSR before the Japanese company officially began the sale process, but it ultimately pulled out. ENEOS, which won the race, is the leading petrochemical company in Japan. It is also currently in the bidding race for SK Lubricants.

ENEOS has not revealed how much it offered for the business. JSR reportedly wanted a 1 trillion won valuation for its unit. (Reporting by Si-eun Park)