Crompton still in Chinese silanes JV

By Patrick Raleigh, ERJ On-line news editor

Middlebury, Connecticut-Crompton Corp. is still seeking to sell Nanjing Crompton Shuguang Organosilicon Specialties Co. Ltd (NCSOS)-its majority-owned Chinese organosilanes manufacturing joint venture-to General Electric Co. The planned deal is linked to the sale of the group's OSi business to GE in July last year.

The Chinese firm, “should eventually transfer to GE,” according to a Crompton spokeswoman. However, “there are some issues keeping this from happening,” she added in a telephone interview. Crompton established the JV with Nanjing Shuguang General Chemical Co. (NSGCC) in mid-2002.

GE was to have acquired NCSOS shortly after its $1005-million acquisition of Crompton's OSi business on 31 July 2003. At that time, Crompton said it expected to receive an extra $12 million from the transfer of certain OSi assets overseas to GE.

NCSOS, which operates from a facility at Crompton's site in Nanjing, supplies organosilanes for used in coatings, adhesives, sealants, fibreglass, rubber, and electronics applications. Crompton's JV partner NSGCC claims to be China's largest silanes producer.