Borealis Buys Nova's Stake in the Novealis PE Joint Venture

In a joint announcement, Austria’s Borealis and Nova Chemicals (U.S. office in Moon Township, Penn.) reported they have reached an agreement for Borealis to buy Nova’s’ 50% ownership interest in Novealis Holdings LLC. Formed in 2018, Novealis is the joint venture between affiliates of Borealis and Nova, which subsequently formed a 50/50 joint venture with Total S.A. (U.S. office in Houston) to launch Bayport Polymers LLC (“Baystar”) in Bayport, Texas.

Closing of the acquisition, expected within the first half of this year, is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other conditions but is not subject to any financing condition.

At the official groundbreaking of the joint venture’s 2-billion lb/yr ethane steam cracker in mid-2018, it was explained that Baystar combines Total’s existing Bayport, Texas, 900-million lb/yr PE facility with the Borealis proprietary multi-modal Borstar technology that produces enhanced L/LDPE, HDPE and MDPE, and Nova’s deep polyethylene customer and technical expertise to deliver a broad range of products to help meet growing demand. More importantly, the project includes a new 1.4-billion lb/yr Borstar PE unit, slated to come on stream next year.