LyondellBasell Industries N.V. LYB has announced it will sell off its former Houston Refinery site and related assets to Valero Refining-Texas, L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation, for a purchase price of $320.5 million. The transaction marks another step in LyondellBasell’s ongoing portfolio transformation strategy, aimed at increasing long-term growth and value creation potential through a better business mix.
Under the agreement, Valero will assume responsibility for ongoing site operations, environmental liabilities, pension costs and other employee-related obligations. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Following LYB’s decision to discontinue refining operations, the company evaluated various alternatives for this site and reached the conclusion that divestiture presented the most attractive option to advance its strategic priorities.
The sale will also benefit the company by allowing it to gain from a non-core asset while ensuring continued employment for the site’s workforce under the transferred ownership. It also positions the refinery’s infrastructure with an owner whose primary business is refining.
This orderly transition will be carried out keeping in mind LyondellBasell’s broader efforts to streamline its portfolio, improve capital allocation and direct resources towards strategic areas. The transaction is expected to support the company’s long-term value creation objectives while reducing its exposure to non-core operations.
Shares of LYB have gained 48.4% over the past year compared with the 28.5% rise in its industry.
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LYB’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
LYB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Reliance, Inc. RS, Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. ASM and Element Solutions Inc. ESI.
RS currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while ESI and AVNT carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RS’ 2026 earnings is pegged at $23.70 per share, indicating a 66.2% year-over-year surge. RSshares have gained 55.3% over the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASM’s current fiscal-year earnings is pinned at 28 cents per share. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 75%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ESI’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.85 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 24.2%. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 6%.
Source: finance.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.
