Mitsui, Takeda Chemical tie up

Mitsui, Takeda Chemical tie up

TOKYO (Dow Jones): Mitsui Chemicals Inc. and Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. on Wednesday agreed to consolidate their urethane operations in a new joint venture.

The companies will set up a joint company, Mitsui Takeda Chemicals Inc., after they receive the fair trade commission's approval for the consolidation.

The new company will start operations in April, they said.

Mitsui will hold a 51 percent stake in the new company with Takeda taking up the balance. Mitsui will buy all of Takeda's shareholdings in the joint venture in 2006, they said.

Mitsui Takeda Chemicals will become the largest urethane company in Asia with sales of Y110 billion expected in the fiscal year to March 2002, the two firms said.