JSR completes sale of elastomers business to Eneos

Tokyo – JSR Corp. has completed the previously announced sale of its elastomers business to Japanese energy group Eneos Corp.

The transfer of stocks to Eneos was completed 1 April and will enable JSR to narrow focus on semiconductor materials and life sciences as ‘core growth pillar’, said JSR in 1 April statement.

As previously reported by ERJ, the business will be relaunched as Eneos Materials Corp.

The two parties announced the deal – with an enterprise value of Yen115 billion (€867 million) – last May.

JSR's elastomers business posted an operating loss of Yen11.4 billion, on 20% lower sales of Yen143 billion for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2021.

The unit contributed about 21% of total JSR group sales in fiscal year 2020 and includes a portfolio of styrene-butadiene rubbers (ESBR and SSBR), polybutadiene rubber, polyisoprene, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber and thermoplastics elastomers.

At the time of the purchase, Eneos said a key reason behind the acquisition was the company’s SSBR materials, which it said are “indispensable to the mobility industry.”

“Eneos expects tires to be needed regardless of changes in [vehicle] power sources and forms, and elastomers business is a field where growth can be expected in the future,” said the Eneos statement.

The acquisition is part of Eneos’ 2040 long-term vision, which sees the group focusing on high-performance materials as a growth area.

“By acquiring technology in new core areas for our materials business, Eneos will be able to provide high-performance materials that support various industries including the mobility industry,” it added.

Formerly JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., Eneos is based in Tokyo and is a leading Japanese petroleum company.