INEOS and NOVA Chemicals name senior officers for expanded joint venture
Pittsburgh, PA and Lyndhurst, UK - NOVA Chemicals Corporation (NYSE, TSX: NCX) and INEOS today announced the nomination of three senior officers for the companies’ proposed, expanded joint venture. As previously announced in March 2007, NOVA Chemicals and INEOS have signed a letter of intent to expand the companies’ existing joint venture in Europe, NOVA Innovene, to include North American styrene and polystyrene assets.
The expanded joint venture is expected to have initial revenues of approximately U.S. $3.5 billion per year. The following senior officers have been named to lead the organization:
Kevin McQuade – Chief Executive Officer. Currently, Mr. McQuade is Chief Executive Officer of INEOS Styrenics.
Martin Pugh – Managing Director, Europe. Mr. Pugh is Managing Director of NOVA Innovene.
Chris de la Camp – Chief Financial Officer. Mr. de la Camp is currently Finance Director of NOVA Innovene.
The other two members of this leadership team, the Vice President, Purchasing & Supply Chain and the Vice President of Operations, will be named in the coming weeks.
The proposed, expanded joint venture is expected to build on the success of NOVA Innovene to become a market leader in North America and Europe. The preliminary target for new synergies for the joint venture is U.S. $40 million. In addition, the joint venture is expected to participate in necessary industry consolidation. The transaction to form the expanded joint venture is expected to close by the third quarter of 2007, subject to approvals and completion of definitive agreements. Once the transaction has closed, the new leadership team will determine the actions required to meet the initial objectives of the joint venture.
NOVA Chemicals produces plastics and chemicals that are essential to everyday life. Our employees develop and manufacture materials for customers worldwide that produce consumer, industrial and packaging products. NOVA Chemicals works with a commitment to Responsible Care® to ensure effective health, safety, security and environmental stewardship. Company shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges as NCX.
INEOS is a rapidly growing manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty and intermediate chemicals and polymers. It comprises 18 businesses each with a blue chip, chemical company vintage, and its production network includes 68 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries throughout the world. In 2006, INEOS currently employs around 15,000 employees and has sales of more than $33 billion.
NOVA Chemicals media enquiries, please contact:
Greg Wilkinson — Vice President, Public and Government Affairs
Phone: 412 490 4166
NOVA Chemicals Investor Relations , please contact:
Chris Bezaire — Vice President, Investor Relations
Phone: 412 490 5070
INEOS media enquiries, please contact:
Ed Barnes — Vice President, Marketing and Sales
Phone: 815 423 1208
Forward-Looking Information
The information in this news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding: the expected initial revenues of approximately U.S. $3.5 billion per year for the expanded joint venture; expectations that the proposed expanded joint venture will build on the success of NOVA Innovene to become a market leader in North America and Europe; the preliminary target for new synergies for the joint venture; the expectation that the joint venture will participate in necessary industry consolidation; and the expected timing of the closing of the transaction to form the expanded joint venture. By their nature, forward-looking statements require NOVA Chemicals to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions and projections will not prove to be accurate, that NOVA Chemicals' assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. Some of the risks that could affect NOVA Chemicals' future results and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include: uncertainties regarding obtaining necessary approvals of the expanded joint venture; uncertainties regarding commodity chemicals price levels (which depend, among other things, on supply and demand for these products, capacity utilization and substitution rates between these products and competing products); feedstock availability and prices; operating costs; starting up and operating facilities; the impact of competition; uncertainties associated with the North American, South American, European, and Asian economies and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the publicly filed disclosure documents and securities commissions reports of NOVA Chemicals. NOVA Chemicals' forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. In addition, the forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this news release, and except as required by applicable law, NOVA Chemicals undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.
Responsible Care® is a registered trademark of the Canadian Chemical Producers' Association (CCPA) in Canada and is a registered service mark of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in the United States.