BlueStar buys Orkla silicon business for $2b

China National BlueStar will buy the silicon business of Norwegian conglomerate Orkla (ORK.OSL) for US$2 billion, the Financial Times reported. The deal will give BlueStar, controlled by state-owned chemicals group ChemChina, control over Orkla’s Elkem subsidiary, which owns production facilities for high-grade silicon used in solar panels. It is one of the largest acquisitions to date by a Chinese firm in Europe, and is the second Nordic industrial asset to be acquired by a Chinese entity in two years; Geely (0175.HK) purchased Sweden’s Volvo from Ford (F.NYSE) last year. US private equity firm Blackstone has a 20% stake in BlueStar, with the remainder held by ChemChina.