James Ratcliffe

Chemical giant Ineos plans to build a £125m world-scale phenol and acetone plant in China by the end of 2008. It shows that James Ratcliffe's ambitions to build a worldbeating chemicals operation are on track following its £5bn acquisition of BP's Innovene division in 2005.

From his base in the New Forest, the low-key Ratcliffe runs Ineos Group, which has become the world's third largest chemicals company, and the world's largest producer of a range of chemicals such as acetone, phenol and car airconditioning fluids. The BP deal was a stunning coup, as he beat off the private equity industry to pull off the deal. But he knows the private equity boys well, having worked as a director of Advent International (Boston) from 1987 to 1992. Before that, however, he spent 15 years in accounting, marketing, and business management at Esso Petroleum and Courtaulds.

In 1992, he left Advent International and, together with Dr John Hollowood, led the management buyout of an earlier offshoot of BP - its speciality chemicals division - which became Inspec. It floated on the stock market in 1994, and four years later was taken over in a £611m deal by Laporte. Ratcliffe had left the operation by then, but his remaining shares and options were worth £28m at the time. The beach had no allure though as Ratcliffe was not yet finished with chemicals. Armed with his windfall, he headed a buyout team that acquired Ineos Group from Inspec in a £90.5m deal in 1998.

A series of bold takeovers followed and he went on to buy chunks of chemical giants ICI, Dow and Degussa. Ineos has purchased most of its assets in auctions where it was often competing against private equity capital companies.

'We've found greater receptiveness from sellers because we're not a private equity capital company,' says Ratcliffe. 'Chemical companies are more comfortable dealing with us than with accountants from the private equity capital sector, who are a different breed of people.'

The 2005 accounts for Ineos Group show that the combined Ineos and Innovene operation made over £414m profit on £15.2bn in sales in 2005. The net assets of the combined group stand at around £6.5bn. While we would normally value the group near these net assets, we are more cautious in the volatile markets and settle for £4.8bn, which implies a £3.2bn valuation on Ratcliffe's stake. He has a £100m stake in the separate Ineos Chlor operation. In all, Ratcliffe should easily be worth £3.3bn.