PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its phenol manufacturing facility in Haverhill, Ohio, to Haverhill Chemicals LLC, an affiliate of Goradia Capital LLC. Sunoco will sell the facility and the estimated value of the product inventory attributable to the facility for a combined purchase price of approximately $106.5 million. The purchase price is subject to adjustment based upon the product inventory on hand at the closing. Sunoco incurred a pretax non-cash charge of $169 million related to the write-down of Haverhill assets in the second quarter of 2011.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.
"The sale of the Haverhill manufacturing facility continues our efforts to unlock value for shareholders by divesting certain non-core assets and completes our exit from the chemicals business," said Lynn L. Elsenhans, Sunoco's chairman and chief executive officer. "We appreciate the years of service that the employees at Haverhill have given Sunoco."
Alberto Spera, the new chief executive officer of Haverhill Chemical, said, “I am truly excited by this acquisition. We are impressed by the Haverhill team, and I look forward to working together to create a successful company.”
Sunoco is a leading transportation fuel provider, with operations located primarily in the East Coast and Midwest regions of the United States. The Company sells transportation fuels through more than 4,900 branded retail locations in 24 states. APlus convenience stores are operated by the Company or independent dealers in more than 600 retail locations. The retail network in the Northeast is principally supplied by Sunoco-owned refineries with a combined crude oil processing capacity of 505,000 barrels per day. Sunoco is also the General Partner and has a 34-percent interest in Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., a publicly traded master limited partnership which owns and operates 7,900 miles of refined product and crude oil pipelines and approximately 40 active product terminals. Sunoco has an 81-percent ownership interest in SunCoke Energy, Inc., a publicly traded company which makes high-quality metallurgical-grade coke for major steel manufacturers. SunCoke Energy has facilities in the U.S. which have the capacity to manufacture approximately 3.7 million tons of metallurgical-grade coke annually and is the operator of, and has an equity interest in, a 1.7 million tons-per-year cokemaking facility in Vitória, Brazil.
Haverhill Chemical LLC, an affiliate of Goradia Capital LLC, was formed to acquire the Haverhill phenol plant from Sunoco and will be headquartered in Houston, Texas. Goradia Capital acquires manufacturing plants or participates in significant projects in the petrochemical industry. Goradia Capital is affiliated with Vinmar International Ltd. of Houston, a global polymer and petrochemical marketing and distribution company with more than 26 offices in 23 countries.