Keppel poised to buy chemical company Ixom

Keppel Infrastructure is closing in on a deal to acquire Ixom, the Australian chemicals company controlled by Blackstone, reports Bloomberg.

The chemicals supplier could fetch more than $1 billion, and such a purchase would expand Keppel’s business outside Singapore.

Ixom supplies a range of chemicals across markets including water treatment. It was renamed from Orica following its acquisition by Blackstone for $536 million in 2015.

Keppel is constructing Singapore’s fourth desalination plant, Marina East Desalination Plant, to complete by 2020, and has a 25-year supply contract on the facility.