Deals
U.K.’s Richest Man Jim Ratcliffe Revisits Roots of Fortune With BP Deal
- Jim Ratcliffe-controlled chemicals giant agrees BP purchase
- Ineos to reunite assets with others bought from BP in 2005
Photographer: David Cheskin/PA Images
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More than 15 years after Jim Ratcliffe bought part of BP Plc’s petrochemical business to help establish Ineos Group Holdings SA, the now billionaire is buying the rest.
Ineos agreed to pay $5 billion for about 15 plants on Monday, reuniting them with ex-BP assets Ratcliffe acquired for about $9 billion in 2005. The U.K. chemicals giant will now look to improve and expand the sites, according to Ineos executive Tom Crotty, having long considered them a natural fit for the company.