Oman Oil acquires Oxea from Advent

Private equity company, Advent has announced its divestment from Oxea, one of the largest global manufacturers of Oxo chemicals. Oman Oil Company (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, will acquire Oxea to strengthen its position in the global chemicals sector. The acquisition is subject to antitrust approvals and satisfaction of other conditions. The purchase price was not disclosed.

OOC supports the Sultanate’s economic development programme ‘Vision 2020’, which is aimed at diversifying the economy across a variety of industrial and commercial activities in Oman and abroad, while decreasing dependence on oil. With the acquisition, OOC aims to become a vertically integrated global chemical leader in the downstream industry.

With 1.3Mt/yr of Oxo chemicals and derivatives, Oxea generated sales of around €1.5bn in 2012. The company was formed by merging two separate business units, which Advent acquired in 2007 from Celanese and Degussa.