On the drawing board: First Bauxite Corp. of Canada is planning to invest $200 million to build a bauxite processing plant along the Mississippi River in St. John the Baptist Parish, company and state officials have announced. First Bauxite plans to begin discussing financing strategies with third parties this fall, officials say. If financing is secured, the planned construction period will last 27 months, followed by an estimated three-year production ramp-up. The project would create 100 new direct jobs, Louisiana Economic Development estimates, as well as 117 new indirect jobs and 150 construction jobs in the area. The state is providing the company with an incentive package that includes a performance-based grant of $950,000 to offset infrastructure costs, and the company would benefit from a number of tax exemption programs as well. LED has complete details.
It’s a deal: ExxonMobil and Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.—the state oil company of Venezuela—are selling the Chalmette refinery to New Jersey-based PBF Energy for $322 million, company officials have announced. Exxon and Petróleos de Venezuela each had a 50% stake in the plant holdings, which includes the Chalmette refinery and chemical production facilities, as well as the company’s 100% interests in MOEM Pipeline LLC and 80% interest in each of Collins Pipeline Company and T&M Terminal Company. Subject to regulatory approval, the sale is expected to take place by the end of this year. “ExxonMobil remains committed to doing business in Louisiana through ongoing operations at the Baton Rouge refinery and chemical plants, the development and production of oil and natural gas resources, and sales of fuels and lubricants,” says Jerry Wascom, president of ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Company, in a prepared statement. “All of these businesses are unaffected by this agreement. About 530 ExxonMobil employees and 500 contractors work at the refinery, which has a refinery capacity of about 189,000 barrels per day.
Becoming one: Lafayette-based Home Bancorp Inc. will acquire Metairie-based Louisiana Bancorp for an aggregate deal value of $74.5 million, the banks have announced. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Louisiana Bancorp will receive $24.25 per share in cash upon completion of the merger. The merger has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both banks, and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and Louisiana Bancorp shareholder approval. Louisiana Bancorp currently operates four branches in the greater New Orleans area, with assets of $331 million, $275 million in loans and $201 million in deposits as of the end of March. Home Bancorp, the holding company for Home Bank, currently has banking locations in the greater Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Northshore areas, as well as the Natchez and Vicksburg areas of west Mississippi.
