Amsterdam Court Rejects Massive Claims of Shell and Repsol

MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Orbia Advance Corporation, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: ORBIA*) (“the Company” or “Orbia”) today announced that yesterday, the Amsterdam District Court dismissed two major lawsuits against Orbia and its Vestolit GmbH affiliate (“Vestolit”) in the Dutch Ethylene Damages Litigation. The court issued rulings in two cases—one brought by a Dutch Stichting (foundation) representing three Spanish and Portuguese Repsol entities (“Repsol”) and another by Shell Chemicals Europe (“Shell”)—which claimed over a billion euros in damages.

These rulings dismiss the first two of 13 lawsuits brought by oil and/or petrochemical giants like Shell seeking damages in litigation stemming from a 2020 settlement with the European Union (EU) Commission. In the Repsol case, the court found that it was not “plausible” that the conduct at issue caused harm to Repsol. In the Shell case, the court similarly found that Shell had failed to demonstrate harm. Both cases have been dismissed.

Orbia and Vestolit are encouraged that the court carefully reviewed the facts and evidence and found that the plaintiffs, representing some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in the world, were not harmed. The court found on the contrary that, "[t]he significant increase in steam cracker margins also indicates that the (profit) margins of ethylene suppliers rose significantly during the period [at issue]. This also suggests that the [defendants’ conduct] had no effect...” (judgment para. 12.40.10).

Sheldon Hirt, Orbia’s General Counsel, stated, “We have always maintained that the purchasers’ actions had no effect on the prices these companies were charging during a period in which they enjoyed rising profit margins, and that there was no actual harm suffered by Shell and other ethylene sellers. Far from being harmed, we believe the claimants benefited from oligopoly pricing, earning excess returns on ethylene sales due to their market power. The ethylene sellers claiming billions in damages have numerous ways to take advantage of their deep knowledge of and insights into the overall market and production cycles. Most of the sellers are, in fact, simultaneously significant purchasers of ethylene. Beyond the economic analyses and legal arguments involved in yesterday’s ruling, it was always difficult to believe that a few small-scale ethylene purchasers could have manipulated the price of ethylene by up to 50%, amounting to hundreds of euros per ton each month. Any further proceedings in these cases will need to look deeply into the facts concerning how this market operates, and why the profit margins of the ethylene suppliers were rising during a period in which they claim to have been harmed. This ruling is a victory not only for smaller purchasers like Vestolit, but also for consumers and the EU’s chemical industry.”

Orbia and Vestolit will continue to vigorously defend their position that all claims are unfounded and should be dismissed.

About Orbia

Orbia Advance Corporation, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: ORBIA*) is a company driven by a shared purpose: to advance life around the world. Orbia operates in the Polymer Solutions (Vestolit & Alphagary), Building & Infrastructure (Wavin), Precision Agriculture (Netafim), Connectivity Solutions (Dura-Line) and Fluor & Energy Materials sectors. The five Orbia business groups have a collective focus on ensuring food and water security, expanding information access and connectivity and advancing decarbonization and the energy transition with basic and advanced materials, specialty products and innovative solutions. Orbia has a global team of over 22,000 employees, commercial activities in more than 100 countries and operations in over 50, with a strong U.S. manufacturing presence and headquarters in Boston, Mexico City, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv. The company generated $7.6 billion in revenue in 2025. To learn more, visit: orbia.com