3. Acquisitions and Divestitures
Acquisitions
No material activities were acquired in 2023 or 2022.
The compensation component agreed as part of the establishment of BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd., Changsha, China, in 2021 was realized in the amount of €18 million in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
A purchase price adjustment for the polyamide business acquired in 2020 led to a payment of €5 million in 2023 (2022: €13 million).
Divestitures
In 2023, BASF sold the following activity:
- On August 31, 2023, BASF completed the sale of its production site in De Meern, Netherlands, to IQatalyst B.V., Luxembourg, a subsidiary of ASC Investment Sarl, Luxembourg. The transaction mainly covered facilities for the production of nickel-based catalysts, including the associated infrastructure and inventories. The production site was part of the Catalysts division. The purchase price was €13 million, and the after-tax disposal loss was €4 million.
BASF sold the following activities in 2022:
- On April 12, 2022, BASF completed the sale of a 51% share in HKZ Investor Holding B.V., Arnhem, Netherlands, the holding company for the investment in the Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) wind farm, to Allianz Capital Partners, Luxembourg, acting as party to the contract on behalf of Allianz Insurance Companies. Since then, BASF’s remaining shares in HKZ Investor Holding B.V. have been accounted for using the equity method. The proportional net income was presented in the BASF Group’s income from operations. The integral investment is not allocated to any division but reported under Other. The disposal group of the wind farm investment was derecognized in April 2022 when the shares were sold. The disposal gain included the gain from the transition from full consolidation to the equity method and was likewise presented in income from operations.
- On September 30, 2022, BASF closed the divestiture of its kaolin minerals business to KaMin, a global performance minerals company headquartered in Macon, Georgia. The divestiture comprised the production hub with sites in Daveyville, Toddville, Edgar, Gordon and related mines, reserves and mills in Toomsboro and Sandersville in Georgia. The refinery catalysts production located at the same site remained part of BASF operations and was not included in the divestiture. The kaolin minerals business was allocated to the Performance Chemicals division. The disposal group of the kaolin minerals business was derecognized in September 2022 when the transaction closed. The adjustment of the disposed net assets led to a €6 million increase in disposal loss after taxes in 2023.
- On October 31, 2022, BASF completed the sale of its production site in Quincy, Florida, and the associated attapulgite business in the Dispersions & Resins division to Clariant Corporation, Louisville, Kentucky. The Quincy site employed around 75 employees and manufactured clay-based mineral products used in a variety of industrial applications. The purchase price was $60 million.
The following overview shows the effects of the divestitures in 2023 and 2022 on the Consolidated Financial Statements. The sales line item shows the year-on-year decline resulting from divestitures. The impact on equity related mainly to gains and losses from divestitures. Payments received from divestitures amounted to €32 million and related to various smaller transactions as well as to payments received in connection with outstanding purchase price receivables and the purchase price adjustment for a transaction from previous years.
|
2023 |
2022 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Million € |
%a |
Million € |
%a |
||||||||||||
Sales |
–212 |
–0.2 |
–564 |
–0.6 |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
Noncurrent assets |
–30 |
–0.1 |
310 |
0.7 |
||||||||||||
of which property, plant and equipment |
–21 |
–0.1 |
–32 |
–0.1 |
||||||||||||
Current assets |
–12 |
0.0 |
–994 |
–2.7 |
||||||||||||
of which cash and cash equivalentsb |
– |
– |
–21 |
0.0 |
||||||||||||
Assets |
–42 |
–0.1 |
–684 |
–0.8 |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
Equity |
–8 |
0.0 |
256 |
0.6 |
||||||||||||
Noncurrent liabilities |
–1 |
0.0 |
–15 |
–0.1 |
||||||||||||
of which financial indebtedness |
– |
– |
– |
– |
||||||||||||
Current liabilities |
–1 |
0.0 |
–213 |
–1.0 |
||||||||||||
of which financial indebtedness |
– |
– |
– |
– |
||||||||||||
Total equity and liabilities |
–9 |
0.0 |
28 |
0.0 |
||||||||||||
Payments received from divestitures |
32 |
|
712 |
|
||||||||||||
Further effects in connection with divestituresc |
– |
|
–21 |
|
||||||||||||
Payments received from divestitures according to statement of cash flows |
32 |
|
691 |
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Agreed transactions
On December 21, 2023, BASF, LetterOne and Harbour Energy plc (Harbour), London, United Kingdom, signed an agreement to combine the businesses of Wintershall Dea and Harbour. According to the agreement, Wintershall Dea’s E&P business, consisting of its producing and development assets as well as exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn), as well as Wintershall Dea’s carbon storage (CCS) licenses will be transferred to Harbour. Upon completion of the transaction, which is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to further antitrust approvals and regulatory approvals for foreign investments in various countries, Wintershall Dea shareholders will receive a cash consideration totaling $2.15 billion (BASF share: $1.56 billion) and new shares to be issued by Harbour equating a total shareholding of 54.5% in the enlarged Harbour (BASF share: 39.6%). As a non-integral shareholding, Wintershall Dea is accounted for using the equity method.