Sumitomo Chemical said its first-phase company split for its Japanese polypropylene and linear low-density polyethylene business took effect on July 1, 2026.
The company said target polyolefin businesses move to Prime Polymer, with Sumitomo Chemical taking a 20 per cent stake.
Sourcing teams can watch phase two, which the company said is planned for April 1, 2027.
Sumitomo Chemical said in a disclosure that the necessary clearances, regulatory permissions and approvals under competition laws and other relevant regulations had been obtained. The business integration agreement, joint venture agreement and first absorption-type company split agreement became effective from July 1, 2026.
The agreements involve Sumitomo Chemical, Prime Polymer, Mitsui Chemicals and Idemitsu Kosan. Sumitomo Chemical said it had announced the business integration and joint venture agreements on December 24, 2025, and entered into the first-phase absorption-type company split agreement with Prime Polymer on April 1, 2026.
Each stage is structured as a simple absorption-type company split. Sumitomo Chemical said each phase is expected to reduce its total assets by less than 10 per cent of net assets as of the end of the immediately preceding fiscal year, and net sales by less than 3 per cent of net sales for that fiscal year.
For sourcing and supply-chain teams tracking PP and LLDPE procurement from Japan, the immediate change is the operating structure for the target businesses. Sumitomo Chemical said approval and conclusion of the second-phase agreement are planned for January 2027, with the second phase scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2027.
ALCHEMPro News Desk
