Arkema Plans to Sell Plastic Additives Business to Praana

Arkema S.A. ARKAY has announced a proposed sale of part of its impact modifiers business and processing aids to the Indian group Praana to streamline and increase focus on its strategic activities. The divestment also covers the global scope for Methyl Methacrylate Butadiene Styrene (MBS) copolymers as well as the European and Asian scope for acrylic copolymers (AIMPA).These businesses are a part of Arkema’s Coating Solutions segment and generated sales of €44 million in 2024.

Arkema will divest its production facility in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, which employs 50 people. The company will keep the Mobile plant, along with its American AIMPA businesses.

The plastic additives produced there are used to enhance impact resistance and improve productivity in extrusion and molding processes for PVC and for a number of composites used in the construction and packaging sectors.

The prospective buyer, Praana, is a leader in specialty chemicals and composite materials production. Its portfolio of businesses comprises Sterling Specialty Chemicals, Galata Chemicals, Artek Surfin Chemicals and 3B Fibreglass. It offers solutions for construction, automotive, textile, cleaning, personal care and industrial markets.

The proposed sale is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2026, subject to preliminary information and consultation process involving the employee representative bodies in the Netherlands. Arkema continues to steer forward on its strategy to refocus on strategic and higher value-added activities in Specialty Materials.

ARKAY’s shares have lost 17.8% over the past year compared with the industry’s 27.1% decline.

ARKAY’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

ARKAY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Kinross Gold Corporation KGC, Fortuna Mining Corp. FSM and Equinox Gold Corp. EQX.

At present, KGC sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while FSM and EQX carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KGC’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.67 per share, indicating a rise of 145.59%. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters while missing once, with an average surprise of 17.37%. KGC’s shares have gained 212.8% over the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSM’s current fiscal-year earnings is pinned at 76 cents per share, indicating a 65.22% year-over-year increase. Its shares have surged 133.5% over the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EQX’s current-year earnings stands at 54 cents per share, implying a 170% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average earnings surprise of 87%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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