The SOLVAY Group (Brussels) and EVC International N.V. (Amsterdam) announce today that they have signed an agreement towards the acquisition by the SOLVAY Group of EVC Ibérica S.A., a Spanish EVC subsidiary specialized in the manufacturing of compounds.

This operation will increase the SOLVAY Group's competitiveness and strengthen its position on the Spanish market for PVC compounds. It should be completed during the first quarter of the year 2000 after the usual evaluation and feasibility study (due diligence) and will then be filed with the relevant Spanish competition authorities. PVC compounds are used for the manufacturing of packages, profiles, cables, pipes and fittings, as well as in the automotive industry and in various other applications.

Since its creation in 1992, EVC Ibérica has focused its activities on the production and sale of PVC compounds in Spain. The plant is located at Montornès del Vallès (18 km north of Barcelona) and presently employs 49 people. EVC's PVC compounds activities are established in Europe, in particular in Italy, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Though the group does consider its activities in Spain as a key business, it will nevertheless continue to be present for the marketing of PVC resins and rigid sheets.

EVC is a company listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It is in 1999 the leading PVC manufacturer in Europe and a worldwide leader in PVC/VCM technology. In 1998, its sales reached EUR 927 million and it employed some 3,700 people.

Solvay is the fourth-largest producer of PVC in the world with total worldwide capacities (including Thailand) amounting to 1.8 million metric tons/year.
Solvay is an international chemical and pharmaceutical group, headquartered in Brussels (Belgium). It employs about 33,000 people in 46 countries. In 1998, its consolidated sales amounted to EUR 7.5 billion (USD 8.7 billion), generated by its four sectors of activity : Chemicals, Plastics, Processing and Pharmaceuticals. The Group's business in Spain contributed for an amount of EUR 475 million (approx. ESP 80 billion) to the 1998 consolidated sales.