Alujain sells 35% stake in NATPET for SAR 1.86B

One of Alujain's plants

Alujain Corp. announced today, May 30, the final sale of a 35% equity stake in its subsidiary National Petrochemical Industrial Co. (NAPTET) to Basell International Holdings B.V., with SAR 1.86 billion deposited, the company said in a statement to Tadawul.

The company also said that all conditions agreed upon in the share purchase agreement are complete, including the restructuring of Alujain subsidiaries and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals inside and outside the Kingdom.

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The restructuring of subsidiaries included transfer of NATPET’s 100% ownership in Infrastructure Reinforcement Industrial Company (IRIC) to Alujain. It also entailed transfer of NATPET’s 50% ownership in joint venture Natpet Schulman Specialty Plastic Compounding L.L.C (Natpet Schulman) to Alujain.

Alujain noted that its ownership in NATPET decreased from 100% to 65% upon completion of this transaction.

Alujain said that the proceeds of the sale will be used to pay off all debts amounting to SAR 1.23 billion, adding that the balance will go towards investment opportunities that are being studied with the aim of diversifying the company's sources of income and enhancing its financial stability.

In January, Alujain signed an agreement to sell a 35% stake in NATPET to Basell International, a subsidiary of New York Stock Exchange-listed LyondellBasell Industries N.V., for nearly SAR 1.87 billion ($500 million), data available to Argaam showed.

Trading on Alujain stock was suspended at the close of the session today, and it will resume on June 2.