LyondellBasell, the company with New Year’s resolutions

LyondellBasell will acquire A. Schulman for $2.25 billion in cash. The combined company will create a leading Advanced Polymer Solution business. LyondellBasell continued the expansion of its olefins and derivatives units by significantly de-bottlenecking existing production capacity in the past decade. This strategy helped the company to leverage high margins available in the chain when crude oil prices were over $100/bbl. This accumulated cash flow is enabling the company to pursue the growth both organically and by acquisition aggressively.