Project Overview
Specialized chemical plants can retain significant value long after production stops. Realizing that value often depends on reaching a small global buyer pool with the right production need.
Changes in the regional gold-mining market affected the economics of sodium cyanide production, and FMC's 25,000 TPY plant in Green River, Wyoming was idled in 2002. The complete facility remained intact, but FMC was unable to find a buyer. In 2012, Phoenix Equipment was given the opportunity to market the plant for relocation and launched a global search for a company that could put the complete facility back into productive use.
The Challenge
The potential buyer pool for a 25,000 TPY sodium cyanide plant was relatively small. A viable buyer needed a specific requirement for sodium cyanide production, along with the ability to acquire and relocate a complete facility. The sale presented an additional challenge because the reactor used a different process technology from the rest of the facility.
By the time Phoenix became involved, the plant had been idle for approximately a decade. Phoenix needed to market the complete facility to a specialized global buyer base, identify a company with the right production requirement, and work through the technical due diligence required to complete the transaction. Once a buyer was secured, Phoenix would also manage the dismantlement, match-marking, crating, packing, and shipment of the plant to Mexico.
Finding the Right Buyer
Phoenix marketed the facility globally for approximately 18 months before finding the eventual buyer, a Brazilian company developing a new chemical complex in Mexico that would include cyanide and ACN production.
Finding the buyer was only part of the process. Due diligence continued for approximately six months as the facility was evaluated and the parties worked toward a transaction. The effort ultimately resulted in a successful transaction for a plant FMC had been unable to sell for years, as part of an approximately $6.5 million project.
The transaction extended beyond the individual pieces of equipment. The buyer acquired the complete 25,000 TPY sodium cyanide plant along with associated process know-how, providing an existing production facility with capital and lead-time advantages compared with building comparable capacity new.
Dismantlement & Relocation to Mexico
With the transaction complete, Phoenix managed the physical relocation of the plant from Green River to Mexico. Phoenix's scope included dismantlement, match-marking, crating, packing, and shipment of the complete facility.
Relocation work began in March 2014 and was completed by September 2014. The buyer was responsible for reassembly and commissioning in Mexico.
Project Outcome
The project allowed FMC to realize substantial value from a plant that had remained unsold for years. The buyer acquired a complete 25,000 TPY sodium cyanide facility and associated know-how for its new complex in Mexico, with capital and lead-time advantages compared with building comparable capacity new.
Phoenix managed the dismantlement and relocation through shipment to Mexico, completing an approximately $6.5 million project that put the idled facility back on a path toward productive use.
Project Highlights
Client: FMC
Location: Green River, Wyoming
Facility: Sodium Cyanide Plant
Capacity: 25,000 TPY
Transaction: Complete plant and associated know-how
Buyer: Brazilian company developing a cyanide and ACN complex in Mexico
Marketing: Approximately 18 months of global marketing
Due Diligence: Approximately six months
Project Value: Approximately $6.5 million
Relocation: Green River, Wyoming to Mexico
Relocation Period: March 2014 to September 2014
Phoenix Scope: Global marketing, dismantlement, match-marking, crating, packing, and shipment
Buyer Scope: Reassembly and commissioning
Finding a Market for Specialized Process Plants
Specialized process plants can have substantial value even when the potential buyer pool is small. Capturing that value depends on reaching companies with the right production need, project timing, capital, and ability to relocate the facility.
Phoenix combines global plant marketing with the ability to manage the dismantlement and relocation that follows a sale. That market knowledge can help sellers realize more value from specialized facilities, while giving buyers access to existing production capacity with capital and lead-time advantages compared with building new.