3 – Acquisitions and divestitures

Divestitures

On June 30, 2016, BASF concluded the sale of its global polyolefin catalysts business to W. R. Grace & Co., Columbia, Maryland, as announced on April 22, 2016. The transaction involved technologies, patents, brands and the transfer of production plants in Pasadena, Texas, and Tarragona, Spain. Around 170 employees transferred to Grace. These activities had been assigned to the Catalysts division.

Agreed-upon transactions

As announced in February 2016, BASF reached an agreement with AkzoNobel on the sale of the Coatings division’s industrial coatings business for €475 million. The transaction includes technologies, patents and trademarks, as well as the transfer of two production sites in England and in South Africa. It requires consultation with employee representatives and certain regulatory approvals. BASF generated around €300 million in sales in the industrial coatings business in 2015. BASF and AkzoNobel intend to complete the transaction by the end of 2016.

On April 20, 2016, BASF announced that an agreement had been reached to acquire the automotive refinishing business of Guangdong Yinfan Chemistry Co. Ltd. (“Yinfan”) in Jiangmen, China. The acquisition grants BASF access to a state-of-the-art production plant for automotive refinish coatings in China. In addition, it enables BASF to add the Yinfan product range to its portfolio of automotive refinish coatings in Asia Pacific. The transaction is expected to conclude in the second half of 2016, subject to the necessary legal and statutory approvals from relevant authorities. At BASF, the activities are to be integrated into the Coatings division.

On June 17, 2016, BASF signed an agreement with Albemarle Corporation, Charlotte, North Carolina, on the acquisition of the global surface treatment provider Chemetall. Headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, Chemetall is a leading global provider of technologies and innovations for treating metal surfaces. The company has around 2,500 employees worldwide and operates 21 production sites in more than 20 countries, as well as 10 research and development sites and 24 sales offices. Full-year sales for 2015 were $845 million. The purchase price amounts to $3.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016, subject to approval by the relevant authorities. BASF intends to integrate the activities into the Coatings division.