Two Chemical Giants "Divest" as Dawn and Other Leaders "Take Over"

Recently, the two giants from Japan and South Korea, Koalili and SK Group, announced that they will transfer their subsidiaries in China.Dawn Holdings and Jiangsu Shuangxiang Group, two leading companies

Dawn acquires SK Group's EPDM business.

On December 10, Dawn Co., Ltd. announced its plan to acquire 80% of the shares of Ningbo Aisikai Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. (referred to as Ningbo SK) to further...Further improve industrial layout and expand.Application scenarios of the company in the field of elastomers.

According to the information, Ningbo SK was established with investment from Hong Kong SK, a company under SK Group, the second-largest enterprise group in South Korea, focusing on the research and production of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber. In addition, there have been previous reports.SK Group is selling its entire 35% stake in the joint venture China-Korea (Wuhan) Petrochemical Co., Ltd. with Sinopec.The transaction is expected to be conducted at its book value of approximately 819.3 billion won (about 4.17 billion yuan).

EPDM is the core raw material of Dawn's dynamic vulcanization platform products. Its different molecular structures can endow the dynamic vulcanization platform products with unique weather resistance, ozone resistance, elasticity, and flame retardancy, making it one of the key factors that determine product performance and production costs.

The addition of the EPDM business makes Dawn's "polymer-modification-application" full chain more complete, fundamentally solving the upstream raw material "bottleneck" problem and significantly reducing the risk of dependence on external raw materials.

On the same day, Daon Co., Ltd. also announced the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore for external investment, aiming to further expand its overseas market and accelerate the achievement of its global layout strategic goals. Just last month, Daon...Announcement: We will establish Shandong Daon Technology Co., Ltd. (tentative name) with a registered capital of 10 million RMB, based on future development needs.

(2) Jiangsu Shuangxiang acquires Kuraray's methyl methacrylate resin cast sheet business.

On December 8, Jiangsu Shuangxiang Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shuangxiang Group") officially signed an agreement with Kuraray to acquire 100% equity of its wholly-owned subsidiary Kuraray Acrylic (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. The transaction is expected to be completed between mid-February and early March 2026.

Since its establishment in 2004, Kuraray (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. has been engaged in the business of methyl methacrylate resin cast sheets.The acrylic bathtub market mainly targets high-end brands.It is also a supply base for cast plates in the Japanese market.

However, in recent years, due to the downturn in China's real estate market, sales of the main product, acrylic bathtubs, have decreased, leading to a decline in profitability. As a result, the decision was made to transfer this business to Jiangsu Shuangxiang Group, which has the largest production capacity of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in China.

In the future, Jiangsu Shuangxiang Group will continue to maintain the normal operation of the factory and the employment of employees, and the factory will continue to supply the "Paraglas®" brand products currently sold by Kuraray in the Japanese market.The sale of the Chinese subsidiary this time is also part of advancing Kuraray's mid-term business plan "PASSION 2026," which includes reducing the production capacity of methyl methacrylate (MMA).。

Cola-Cola announced on June 27, 2024, that it will reduce its MMA annual production capacity by half.From 67,000 tons/year to 33,500 tons/year.Additionally, it has been decided to cease external sales of MMA and focus on internal use. At the same time, the production volumes of downstream products and by-products, such as MMA resin molding materials and ammonium sulfate, will be correspondingly reduced to adapt to the changes.

Shuangxiang Group is China's largest producer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and is committed to building an integrated advantage across the entire industry chain from MMA to PMMA. This acquisition is a key move for Shuangxiang Group to extend into the high value-added downstream field, filling the gap in the group's high-end cast sheet sector, and achieving vertical integration from raw materials to end products.