PITTSBURGH & LYNDHURST, U.K., June 6 /CNW/ - NOVA Chemicals Corporation (NYSE:NCX)(TSX:NCX) and INEOS today named the remaining positions on the senior leadership team and announced the headquarters location for the companies' proposed expanded joint venture. As previously announced in March 2007, NOVA Chemicals and INEOS have signed a letter of intent to expand the companies' existing joint venture in Europe to include North American styrene and polystyrene assets. The proposed expanded joint venture will be known as INEOS NOVA.
The following senior officers have been named:
-- Tom Strifler - Vice President, Operations & Engineering. Currently, Mr. Strifler is NOVA Chemicals' Vice President of Engineering.
-- John Morgan - Vice President, Purchasing & Logistics. Mr. Morgan is currently NOVA Chemicals' Vice President, Corporate Development.
These officers will be part of the senior leadership team of INEOS NOVA along with previously nominated members: Kevin McQuade, Chief Executive Officer; Martin Pugh, Managing Director for Europe, and Chris de la Camp, Chief Financial Officer. The headquarters for the proposed expanded joint venture will be in Joliet, Illinois, which is also the location of the proposed joint venture's largest polymer plant.
The preliminary target for new synergies for INEOS NOVA has been raised to U.S. $50 million. The transaction to form the expanded joint venture is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007, subject to approvals and completion of definitive agreements.
NOVA Chemicals produces plastics and chemicals that are essential to everyday life. Our employees develop and manufacture materials for customers worldwide that produce consumer, industrial and packaging products. NOVA Chemicals works with a commitment to Responsible Care(R) to ensure effective health, safety, security and environmental stewardship. Company shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges as NCX.
INEOS is a rapidly growing manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty and intermediate chemicals and polymers. It comprises 18 businesses each with a blue chip, chemical company vintage, and its production network includes 68 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries throughout the world. In 2006, INEOS had approximately 15,000 employees and sales of more than $36 billion.
Maps and graphics are available upon request.
Forward-Looking Information
The information in this news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding: the revised preliminary target for new synergies for the joint venture and the expected timing of the closing of the transaction to form the expanded joint venture. By their nature, forward-looking statements require NOVA Chemicals to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions and projections will not prove to be accurate, that NOVA Chemicals' assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. Some of the risks that could affect NOVA Chemicals' future results and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include: uncertainties regarding obtaining necessary approvals of the expanded joint venture; uncertainties regarding commodity chemicals price levels (which depend, among other things, on supply and demand for these products, capacity utilization and substitution rates between these products and competing products); feedstock availability and prices; operating costs; starting up and operating facilities; the impact of competition; uncertainties associated with the North American, South American, European, and Asian economies and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the publicly filed disclosure documents and securities commissions reports of NOVA Chemicals. NOVA Chemicals' forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. In addition, the forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this news release, and except as required by applicable law, NOVA Chemicals undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.
Responsible Care(R) is a registered trademark of the Canadian Chemical Producers Association (CCPA) in Canada and is a registered service mark of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in the United States.