Geon, OxyChem to Form JV

The Geon Co. today announced that it has signed an agreement with Occidental Chemical Corp. (OxyChem), a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., to implement their proposed joint ventures and to transfer certain businesses to Geon. Also today, Geon's Board of Directors approved the transactions.

The two companies previously announced that they had signed a letter of intent to create a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) joint venture owned 24% by Geon and 76% by OxyChem. The joint venture, which will be known as Oxy Vinyls, LP, will combine Geon's PVC mass/suspension resin and VCM assets with OxyChem's PVC mass/suspension resin and VCM assets and related chlor-alkali facilities. This joint venture would have had 1997 revenues exceeding $1.2 billion.

The agreement specifies that Geon will acquire OxyChem's PVC compounding and film businesses in Burlington, New Jersey, and OxyChem's pellet compounding business in Pasadena, TX. The agreement also creates a second joint venture owned 90% by Geon, involving OxyChem's new powder compounding plant in Pasadena and Geon's powder compounding plant in Plaquemine, LA. This joint venture will be devoted solely to powder or dry-blend compounds.

The next steps in formation of the joint ventures are approval by Geon shareholders, approval by the Board of Directors of Occidental Petroleum Corporation as well as completion of review by government regulatory agencies. Geon anticipates receiving all necessary approvals and closing the transactions by the end of the first quarter of 1999.