Thailand Based Indorama Ventures Seeks Potential Acquisitions

Indorama Ventures PCL, based in Thailand, is looking for acquisitions, particularly in Europe and Africa, as part of its growth strategy, according to its founder and group CEO.

"We don't have anything on IOD (integrated oxides and derivatives) in Europe right now, so as a global firm, we can find some opportunities in IOD," Aloke Lohia said in a virtual interview on Monday.

Indorama Ventures' integrated oxides and derivatives (IOD) division manufactures chemicals for a wide range of applications, including food processing and agriculture.

Lohia also stated that the company is looking for assets in Africa that are involved in the production of material used in plastic bottles and polyester, which are currently its main businesses.

The move comes as the Bangkok-based company, one of the world's biggest petrochemicals producers, aims to double its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) over the next five years, Lohia said.

"Organic growth is a good business," Lohia said. "But for us to double our EBITDA, we need to grow at double digit, and to grow at double digit we needed a new growth engine which we have found in IOD."

The company's core EBIDTA jumped 43 per cent to 79.87 billion baht ($2.27 billion) in 2022 from a year earlier, mainly driven by its IOD business.

The global petrochemicals industry is facing headwinds as energy prices stay volatile and demand stays muted.

Lohia, whom Forbes ranked as the 11th richest man in Thailand in 2022, founded the company in 1994 as Thailand's first worsted wool yarns producer before venturing into the petrochemical industry a year later.

Lohia stated that Indorama Ventures was in a strong financial position to pursue acquisitions. As of the end of 2022, the company had 21.21 billion baht in cash, with a net debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16 times.

According to its website, the company grew rapidly, primarily through acquisitions in regions such as the Americas and Asia, to become one of the world's largest petrochemicals producers, with 147 manufacturing facilities spread across 35 countries.

According to its website, Indorama Ventures has made 50 acquisitions over the last two decades with a total enterprise value of $10.9 billion.

In 2019, it made its largest acquisition to date, paying $2.08 billion for Huntsman Corp's chemical intermediates and surfactant manufacturing facilities in the United States, India, and Australia.