MOSCOW (MRC) -- Albemarle and BASF announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which BASF will acquire Albemarle’s Chemetall surface treatment business for about USD3.2 billion in cash, sid Chemweek.
The Chemetall business became a part of Albemarle through Albemarle’s USD6.2-billion acquisition of Rockwood Holdings which was completed in early 2015. CW reported last month that Albemarle is looking to divest Chemetall and has appointed Bank of America (BofA) as an advisor to explore options for the business.
Chemetall, which is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, is a global supplier of applied surface treatments and services for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries. In 2015, Chemetall generated sales of USD845 million and adjusted Ebitda of USD205 million and has about 2,500 employees worldwide. BASF’s purchase price represents a last-twelve-months Ebitda multiple of 15.3x as of 31 March 2016, Albemarle says. The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant authorities and is expected to close by the end of this year.
BASF says that Chemetall complements its current portfolio by adding the surface treatment business to BASF’s coatings offerings.
BASF’s coatings division produces and sells automotive coatings, automotive refinishes, industrial coatings, and decorative paints. The coatings division generated worldwide sales of about EUR3.2 billion (USD3.6 billion) in 2015. AkzoNobel agreed in February to acquire BASF’s industrial coatings business for EUR475 million, and that transaction is expected to close by year end.
Chemetall products protect metals from corrosion, facilitate forming and machining, allow parts to be optimally prepared for the painting process and ensure proper coating adhesion; these chemicals are used in end-markets such as automotive, aerospace, coil, and metal forming, BASF says. Chemetall operates 21 production sites in more than 20 countries, as well as 10 R&D locations and 24 sales offices.
As MRC wrote before, in April 2016, BASF celebrated the inauguration of its new PU flooring facilities for the production of Ucrete in Bukit Raja, Klang/Malaysia. It is the first manufacturing hub in Asia Pacific to produce all components of Ucrete.
BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of more than EUR70 billion in 2015.
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