Goldman Sachs 2007 Annual Report Download - page 16

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 16 of the 2007 Goldman Sachs annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 154

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134
  • 135
  • 136
  • 137
  • 138
  • 139
  • 140
  • 141
  • 142
  • 143
  • 144
  • 145
  • 146
  • 147
  • 148
  • 149
  • 150
  • 151
  • 152
  • 153
  • 154

We see opportunity
In building global
businesses
GE PLASTICS
In late 2006, General Electric
Company (GE) engaged Goldman
Sachs to help identify strategic
solutions for its plastics business.
GE Plastics was one of the largest
industrial divisions within GE,
and had been a critical part of the
company for decades. However,
when the increased volatility of
raw material costs began impacting
earnings, GE sought a partner
with the strategic profile to
maintain and grow an already
sizeable business.
Goldman Sachs worked closely
with GE to define its objectives, the
strengths of its plastics business
and the reason for its unique value
to a number of potential partners.
Goldman Sachs helped GE to
conclude that the optimal
transaction would most likely be
a sale of GE Plastics, and helped
coordinate an accelerated process
involving a diverse group of
potential buyers from multiple
geographic regions.
As the largest public company in
Saudi Arabia with significant growth
plans in its core operations,
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation
(SABIC) emerged as the best
potential owner of GE Plastics.
Combining SABIC’s low-cost
polycarbonate manufacturing
capabilities and access to low-cost
raw materials with GE Plastics’
globally recognized brands,
unparalleled access to the industry’s
most important customers
and market-leading product-
development skills helped create
a new global market leader in
high-performance plastics,
renamed SABIC Innovative Plastics.
Goldman Sachs understood the
value of GE Plastics and was able
to find the right buyer to grow
the business. With our help, GE
quickly completed the deal
at an attractive valuation while
navigating complex market
conditions and a challenging
financial market. The sale of
GE Plastics to SABIC for
$11.6 billion represented the
largest divestiture in the chemicals
sector and one of the largest
divestitures in GE’s history.
14 Goldman Sachs 2007 Annual Report