recently two subsidiaries of bluestar in the silicone industry: elkem in norway and bluestar silicones in france have merged with each other, marking a strategic milestone in bluestar’s advancement towards becoming the leader of the global integrated silicone industry. on july 30, the board of bluestar discussed the strategic development of the merged company, including going to the public equity market when appropriate and actively supporting elkem to integrate bluestar’s assets in the silicone industry in china.