By Liz White, UT staff
Düsseldorf, Germany-BASF AG has announced the completion of its acquisition of Degussa AG's construction chemicals business on 1 July. The price was just under Euro 2200 million, and BASF said the transaction, which included assumption of Euro 500 million in debt, was valued at Euro 2700 million.
In the deal, BASF has bought plants and sales operations in over 50 countries and an R&D centre in Trostberg, Germany. The business has annual sales of Euro 1800 million, employs about 7400 people globally and markets some 40 000 products in two segments, concrete admixture systems, and construction systems.
"Construction chemicals is an innovative business area with cyclically resilient margins that we will develop into a profitable growth sector in BASF's portfolio," commented Dr Andreas Kreimeyer, BASF board member responsible for Performance Products, in a company announcement.
Kreimayer went on to say that, "We will now work together to integrate Degussa's operations quickly into our existing business. In doing so, we will rely in particular on the expertise and innovativeness of our new colleagues."
Describing BASF as having a long-term strategy with this acquisition, Dr Bernhard Hofmann, head of BASF's Construction Chemicals division, said, "I am pleased to have the opportunity to develop this business further with my team and provide new solutions for our customers." Hofmann, a former member of Degussa's board and one time head of its Construction Chemicals division, joined BASF with the sale.
The construction chemicals business has many polyurethane products, among them polyurethane based sports surfaces (see pic).
When Degussa announced a potential sale of this business on 14 Dec 2005, BASF instantly expressed an interest.
BASF earlier said the global construction chemicals market has an annual value of about Euro 13 000 million, adding that it "is attractive in view of annual growth of about 4 to 5 percent, relatively stable margins and high potential for innovation."
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