Report: ExxonMobil buys Lion Copolymer rubber plant

Baton Rouge, Louisiana - ExxonMobil Corp has acquired a rubber production facility of Lion Copolymer Services LLC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to the local newspaper Baton Rouge Business Report.

The plant, which was formerly owned by the now-bankrupt East-West Copolymer, was bought by Lion Copolymer in May.

According to the Business Report, ExxonMobil acquired the plant for $5.6 million (€4.7 million) on 15 Aug.

The sale includes three tracts of land spanning roughly 94 acres.

Citing ExxonMobil spokeswoman Stephanie Cargile the report said that the chemical giant will not continue current production operations at the plant.

According to Cargile, ExxonMobil has “no immediate plans” for new projects at the plant.

The spokesman added that the additional acreage would help ExxonMobil Chemical assets for potential future investments.

Lion Copolymer Services, which is a part of Lion Copolymer Holdings and a sister company of Lion Elastomers, bought the facility on 26 May for $5.6 million.

In a 2 June statement, Lion Copolymer said it was reviewing the condition of the assets, adding that the site would be decommissioned and remain idled pending a strategic evaluation.

East West Copolymer, a manufacturer of styrene-butadiene rubber and nitrile-butadiene rubber, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before the Middle District of Louisiana court 7 April.

The company, which began life as the Copolymer Corp. in 1943, closed its doors 31 March after operating at the same Baton Rouge plant for 74 years. Approximately 110 employees were laid off.