Chemours – This Time Teflon Could Stick! – Implications for DuPont, Bye Bye...
This is likely a day of real schizophrenia for Chemours. On the one hand you have a rumored bid (Bloomberg) from Apollo. On the other hand you have the loss of the first Teflon related law suit – we...
View ArticleAgitation in Agriculture – Another CEO Change – Time to be Long
Syngenta’s CEO replacement is now the second major leadership move in the Ag space if we include the DuPont CEO exit. In our Chemical Monthly, published last week we talked about the likelihood of...
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Dow Chemical – New Leadership Focus, Same Issues, But More Opportunity
It really is “All Change” in the chemical sector this year. While in this case Andrew Liveris is not retiring yet, we see this as a first move in a transition which allows Andrew to retire soon. He has...
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Commodity Chemicals – It’s Not Just About Crude – It’s a Gas!
For the last 12 months – since the significant slide in crude oil – several US commodity chemical companies have effectively traded as a proxy to crude. For months, if crude has gone up then so has...
View ArticleMonsanto – Left Out in the Cold?
As Monsanto takes visitors through its investor day this week, it does so in a very different environment than it has experienced previously. A story dominated for the last 15 years by innovation, high...
View ArticleThe VERY Long View: The Biggest TMT Companies for 2025
Of the top 10 US TMT companies by market cap today, just 5 were on the list a decade ago. AAPL, AMZN and FB were nowhere to be seen, and GOOG had just edged onto the list at #10. Meanwhile, MSFT leads...
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Axiall – Asymmetric Risk Reward
Axiall is either acting on very poor advice or has something up its sleeve. The company’s total and aggressive rejection of the bid from Westlake has opened a wide door for Westlake to walk through...
View ArticleSasol Delays Ethylene Plant – Axiall, Westlake and Eastman Should be Paying...
Last week Sasol announced a “delay” to some of its US Gulf investments and suggested that its ethylene unit would now start-up in 2019 rather than 2018. The company gave cash flow management as a...
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SHW/VAL – An Expensive Deal Not Without Its Hurdles
The announced acquisition of Valspar by Sherwin Williams, while consistent with our broad view on consolidation does not really tick any of the boxes we identified. This is not a segment facing massive...
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Axiall – Something Else Up Its Sleeve?
Axiall’s apparent reluctance to engage with Westlake in a formal discussion with respect to Westlake’s offer (resulting in a higher bid from Westlake this morning) suggests one of two possible...
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Axiall Strikes Back, but Painting a Very Bleak Picture for Polyethylene vs PVC
On May 9th Axiall issued a presentation defending its position with regard to the hostile takeover move from Westlake and in anticipation of a potential proxy battle. It is a well-constructed...
View ArticleAXLL – Expect a Sale Eventually – Stock Could Drop if WLK Suspends Interest
Since the publication of the most recent AXLL defense document 10 days ago, there has been (public) radio silence from WLK regarding the rejected WLK bids. Axiall seem confident that they can win a...
View ArticleA Deep Learning Primer – The Reality May Exceed the Hype
A Deep Learning Primer – The Reality May Exceed the Hype Deep learning based AI will drive the next phase of disruption for TMT. Leveraging hyperscale data centers and ubiquitous mobile devices, AI...
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Axiall – Don’t Listen For The Fat Lady Quite Yet!
Lotte may consider themselves the “White Knight” for Axiall, but unless they are riding a very big horse and have very large amounts of money in the saddle bags, this story may be far from over. A...
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Monsanto/Bayer – Brexit Raises a Significant Currency Problem
While we think we have a willing buyer and seller on this deal, clearly negotiations have hit a stumbling block, with MON making it very clear that it is looking for other possible partners and BASF...
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Ethylene – The US Remains The Center Of Attention
In late March we published a longer term view of ethylene. Our focus was on what we still believe will be a weakening second half of 2016, possibly more accelerated if Europe is weak – a concern...
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Air Products – Sit On The Sidelines, Or “Suit-Up”
In research published today we share thoughts about the proposed PX/Linde merger, which we think is more likely to be a PX acquisition of Linde – should it go ahead. However, what APD could do matters....
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Change at Linde Suggests an Acquisition Is Possible
SEE LAST PAGE OF THIS REPORT Graham Copley / Nick Lipinski FOR IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES 203.901.1629/203.989.0412 gcopley@/nlipinski@ssrllc.com September 14th, 2016 Change at Linde Suggests an Acquisition...
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