Organization of the BASF Group

Organization of the BASF Group until December 31, 2018

• Twelve divisions grouped into four segments
• Regional divisions, functional units and corporate and research units support our business

Until December 31, 2018, our 12 divisions¹ were grouped into four segments based on their business models: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions and Agricultural Solutions. On September 27, 2018, BASF and LetterOne signed a definitive agreement to merge their oil and gas businesses in a joint venture. The new joint venture will operate under the name Wintershall DEA. Since the agreement was signed, we have no longer reported on BASF’s oil and gas business as a separate Oil & Gas segment. Until closing, its earnings will be presented as a separate item, income after taxes from discontinued operations. Closing of the transaction is expected in the first half of 2019, subject to the approvals of merger control and foreign investment authorities as well as mining authorities and the German Federal Network Agency. In the Agricultural Solutions segment, we renamed the division from Crop Protection to Agricultural Solutions after the acquisition of significant businesses from Bayer was closed in August 2018, especially for seeds.

Our divisions bear operational responsibility and are organized according to sectors or products. They manage our 54 global and regional business units and develop strategies for the 86 strategic business units.¹

Our regional units are responsible for optimizing local infrastructure, and contribute to tapping our market potential. For financial reporting purposes, we organize the regional divisions into four regions: Europe; North America; Asia Pacific; South America, Africa, Middle East.

Seven functional units and eight corporate units support the BASF Group’s business activities. The functional and corporate units provide services in areas such as finance, human resources, engineering and site management, environmental protection, health and safety, investor relations, and communications. Our global research units safeguard our innovative capacity and competitiveness.

Business processes such as the procurement of raw materials and services, production and transport to customers are the shared responsibility of the divisions and the functional units.

BASF structure until December 31, 2018¹

Percentage of total sales in 2018

New organization of the BASF Group as of January 1, 2019

As of January 1, 2019, we have twelve divisions grouped into six segments as follows:

• Chemicals: Petrochemicals and Intermediates
• Materials: Performance Materials and Monomers
• Industrial Solutions: Dispersions & Pigments and Performance Chemicals
• Surface Technologies: Catalysts, Coatings and Construction Chemicals
• Nutrition & Care: Care Chemicals and Nutrition & Health
• Agricultural Solutions: Agricultural Solutions

We are considering the possibility of merging our construction chemicals business with a strong partner, as well as the option of divesting this business. The outcome of this review is open. The Construction Chemicals division will be reported under the Surface Technologies segment until signing of a transaction agreement.

BASF’s new segment structure will allow a more differentiated steering of our businesses according to their market-specific competitive environment. It will increase transparency regarding the results of our segments and divisions and highlight the importance of the Verbund and value chains to our business success. BASF aims to clearly position its businesses against their relevant competitors and establish a high-performance organization to enable BASF to be successful in an increasingly competitive market environment.

The Chemicals segment will remain the cornerstone of our Verbund structure. It supplies the other segments with basic chemicals and intermediates, contributing to the organic growth of our key value chains. Alongside internal accounts, our customers include the chemical and plastics industries. We aim to increase our competitiveness through technological leadership and operational excellence.

The Materials segment’s portfolio comprises advanced materials and their precursors for new applications and systems. These include isocyanates and polyamides as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for the plastics and plastics processing industries. We aim to grow organically through differentiation via specific technological expertise, industry know-how and customer proximity to maximize value in the isocyanate and polyamide value chains.

The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants and admixtures. We aim to drive organic growth in key industries such as automotive, plastics or electronics and expand our position in value-enhancing ingredients and solutions by leveraging our comprehensive industry expertise and application know-how.

The Surface Technologies segment comprises our businesses that offer chemical solutions on and for surfaces. Its portfolio includes coatings, rust protection products, catalysts and battery materials for the automotive and chemical industries. The aim is to drive organic growth by leveraging our portfolio of technologies and know-how, and to establish BASF as a leading and innovative provider of battery materials as well.

In the Nutrition & Care segment, we strive to expand our position as a leading provider of nutrition and care ingredients for consumer products in the area of nutrition, home and personal care. Customers include food and feed producers as well as the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent and cleaner industries. We aim to enhance and broaden our product and technology portfolio. Our goal is to drive organic growth by focusing on emerging markets, new business models and sustainability trends in consumer markets, supported by targeted acquisitions.

The Agricultural Solutions segment aims to further strengthen our market position as an integrated provider of crop protection products and seeds. Its portfolio comprises fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and biological crop protection products, as well as seeds and seed treatment products. We also offer farmers digital solutions combined with practical advice. Our main focus is on innovation-driven organic growth, targeted portfolio expansion as well as leveraging synergies from the acquired businesses.

In addition to the new segment structure, the composition of a number of divisions will also change. The propylene oxide and propylene glycol business will be transferred from the Petrochemicals division to the Monomers division. The superabsorbents business will be allocated to the Petrochemicals division rather than the Care Chemicals division in the future. The styrene, polystyrene and styrene-based foams business, which previously mainly fell under the Performance Materials division and a small part under Other, will be bundled in the Petrochemicals division.

In addition, BASF will embed business-critical parts of its functional units – such as engineering services, procurement and logistics – into the divisions to bring its employees closer to its customers and improve customer-specific agility. We will create leaner structures in our functional units, research and development and in governance functions.