Saudi company buys GE Plastics.

GE, Fairfield, Conn., has announced a definitive agreement to sell its GE Plastics division to Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) for an announced value of $11.6 billion in cash, plus the assumption of liabilities. Closing of the deal has been targeted for the third quarter of this year.

"SABIC is the right owner for our customers and our employees," says GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt. "This transaction will transform the plastics industry by combining SABIC's low-cost materials position and global reach with GE Plastics' strong marketing and technology capabilities."

Mohammed Al-Mady, vice chairman and CEO of SABIC, says, "This acquisition of GE Plastics represents another step in SABIC's growth and diversification to become one of the world's leading manufacturing companies."

GE Plastics is a $6.6 billion global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, health care, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, construction, telecommunications and optical applications. It is headquartered in Pittsfield, Mass., and employs 10,300 people in 60 locations worldwide.

SABIC is one of the world's 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers ranked by market capitalization and is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, glycols, methanol and fertilizers, as well as the fourth largest polymer producer, according to a GE news release.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, SABIC employs approximately 3,300 people and has three petrochemical manufacturing sites in Europe in Geleen, The Netherlands; Teeside, U.K.; and Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The company has more than 17,000 employees throughout the world.