Company News
December 2, 2019
BASF Acquires 3D Print Company
BASF acquires 3D printing service provider Sculpteo
11/28/2019 – Heidelberg, Germany – BASF New Business GmbH has formally agreed to acquire the online 3D printing service provider Sculpteo.
The agreement was signed on November 14, 2019 and is expected to become effective in the next few weeks pending regulatory approval by the relevant authorities. The acquisition of the French 3D printing specialist based in Paris and San Francisco will enable BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH, to market and establish new industrial 3D printing materials more quickly. Sculpteo’s management team fully supports the acquisition and will remain in place to provide customers and partners with this expanded service spectrum. For around a decade already, Sculpteo has operated an online platform with integrated production for the manufacturing of prototypes, individual objects, and serial production components with a range of different additive manufacturing technologies. Customers in various industrial sectors around the world use the Sculpteo service to produce new components rapidly and reliably. BASF will develop the existing Sculpteo 3D printing platform further into a global network. For customers and partners, BASF 3D Printing Solutions will thus be able to offer an additional channel for marketing their services and expanding their own customer bases. “Through the acquisition of Sculpteo, we can provide customers and partners with even faster access to our innovative 3D printing solutions. In addition, our customers will benefit from an extended range of services”, explains Dr. Dietmar Bender, Managing Director BASF 3D Printing Solutions. “Together with Sculpteo, we are pursuing our goal of establishing additive manufacturing as a proven technology for industrial mass production”, says Bender. Combining the strengths of both companies will provide Sculpteo’s existing customers with access to a more extensive portfolio of 3D printing materials. “We are excited to join the BASF team and thus benefit from BASF’s outstanding R&D to provide our customers with innovative solutions”, says Clément Moreau, CEO and Co-Founder of Sculpteo. Moreau will stay with Sculpteo as CEO. Beyond this, the Sculpteo Design Studio and BASF’s technical experts will collaborate to be able to support customers in their 3D printing projects from the early planning phase right through to the final printed part. This will enable BASF to offer its customers end-to-end industrial 3D printing solutions.
http://rubberworld.com/news.asp?id=28865
November 29, 2019
BASF In Talks to Sell Construction Chemicals Unit
Exclusive: Lone Star in exclusive talks to buy BASF construction chemicals unit – sources
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Lone Star has entered exclusive negotiations to buy BASF’s (BASFn.DE) construction chemicals business as the German chemicals company seeks to focus on more profitable operations, people close to the matter said.
The private equity firm vied with a consortium comprising buyout groups Cinven – which owns peer Chryso – and Bain for the world’s largest maker of chemical additives for concrete, they said.
A BASF spokesman confirmed that the company had proceeded to talk with only one bidder but declined to comment further.
Lone Star declined to comment.
Financial details of the potential deal have not emerged, but sources close to the matter have said in the past that they expect the unit to be valued around 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion).
The sale has been long and drawn out as BASF put the business on the block a year ago.
BASF’s CEO Martin Brudermueller said in October that he expected the signing of a deal before the end of the year.
“We received confirmatory bids and are now progressing with a smaller number of interested parties,” he said at the time.
The chemicals giant had initially hoped to sell the unit to the world’s largest cement maker LafargeHolcim (LHN.S), but was unable to hammer out a deal.
Lone Star had previously walked away from the bidding but was invited back to the negotiating table, sources have said.
BASF’s construction chemicals unit is the world’s largest maker of additives for concrete. It also offers a range of substances including concrete repair fillers, grouts and sealants under a business dubbed Construction Systems, where BASF is the No. 4 player globally.
The business, whose products have been used to build train tunnels in London and the Swiss Alps, competes with GCP Applied Technologies (GCP.N) , Mapei, RPM Inc (RPM.N) and Sika (SIKA.S).
Analysts have said that BASF never managed to reconcile the construction chemicals unit’s dependence on small to mid-size builders with BASF’s focus on large industrial customers.
BASF purchased the construction chemicals business from Degussa in 2006 for 2.7 billion euros including debt.
Lone Star has German building materials maker Xella in its portfolio, while Cinven owns smaller French peer Chryso and Bain owns British building materials distributor MKM.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-basf-divestiture-exclusive/exclusive-lone-star-in-exclusive-talks-to-buy-basf-construction-chemicals-unit-sources-idUSKBN1Y11ZB
November 29, 2019
BASF In Talks to Sell Construction Chemicals Unit
Exclusive: Lone Star in exclusive talks to buy BASF construction chemicals unit – sources
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Lone Star has entered exclusive negotiations to buy BASF’s (BASFn.DE) construction chemicals business as the German chemicals company seeks to focus on more profitable operations, people close to the matter said.
The private equity firm vied with a consortium comprising buyout groups Cinven – which owns peer Chryso – and Bain for the world’s largest maker of chemical additives for concrete, they said.
A BASF spokesman confirmed that the company had proceeded to talk with only one bidder but declined to comment further.
Lone Star declined to comment.
Financial details of the potential deal have not emerged, but sources close to the matter have said in the past that they expect the unit to be valued around 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion).
The sale has been long and drawn out as BASF put the business on the block a year ago.
BASF’s CEO Martin Brudermueller said in October that he expected the signing of a deal before the end of the year.
“We received confirmatory bids and are now progressing with a smaller number of interested parties,” he said at the time.
The chemicals giant had initially hoped to sell the unit to the world’s largest cement maker LafargeHolcim (LHN.S), but was unable to hammer out a deal.
Lone Star had previously walked away from the bidding but was invited back to the negotiating table, sources have said.
BASF’s construction chemicals unit is the world’s largest maker of additives for concrete. It also offers a range of substances including concrete repair fillers, grouts and sealants under a business dubbed Construction Systems, where BASF is the No. 4 player globally.
The business, whose products have been used to build train tunnels in London and the Swiss Alps, competes with GCP Applied Technologies (GCP.N) , Mapei, RPM Inc (RPM.N) and Sika (SIKA.S).
Analysts have said that BASF never managed to reconcile the construction chemicals unit’s dependence on small to mid-size builders with BASF’s focus on large industrial customers.
BASF purchased the construction chemicals business from Degussa in 2006 for 2.7 billion euros including debt.
Lone Star has German building materials maker Xella in its portfolio, while Cinven owns smaller French peer Chryso and Bain owns British building materials distributor MKM.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-basf-divestiture-exclusive/exclusive-lone-star-in-exclusive-talks-to-buy-basf-construction-chemicals-unit-sources-idUSKBN1Y11ZB
November 27, 2019
Lanxess Sells Organotin Catalysts to PMC
Lanxess sets climate-neutrality target
Lanxess has set itself a goal of eliminating its greenhouse gas emissions, currently 3.2 million tonnes/year of CO2 equivalent, by 2040. It already had a target of halving them by 2030. This will involve a three-pronged strategy, the company said:
* Launching major ‘impact projects’ for climate protection: currently planned examples include a nitrous oxide decomposition facility, due onstream at Antwerp next year and switching entirely to solar and biomass power at its Indian sites
* Decoupling emissions from growth, partly by means changes to governance, such that the impact on the company’s carbon footprint will becoming an investment criterion for organic growth and acquisitions
* Strengthening process and technological innovation, in areas like heat exchange between plants and air purification, while focusing research more towards climate-neutral processes
Matthias Zachert, chairman of the management board, said that this make Lanxess “an even more sustainable partner for our customers in the future” but also made business sense by saving costs through more efficient use of resources. However, the right policies need to be in place if the Paris Accord target of keeping average temperature increases to 2ºC or less is to be achieved. In particular, Zachert said, the German government should not jeopardise industry’s competitiveness by imposing a double burden of a national emissions trading scheme on top of the European one, as its ‘climate package’ currently proposes to do.
Separately, Lanxess Organometallics has agreed to sell its organotin specialities product line, comprising organotin catalysts and specialties plus intermediates, to the New Jersey based-PMC Group. Terms were not disclosed and the deal should close by the end of 2019. Lanxess will continue to manufacture certain products for PMC at Bergkamen in Germany under a tolling agreement.
Lanxess has also sold its 74% stake in a chrome ore mine in Rustenburg, South Africa to local firm Clover Alloys for an undisclosed amount. This should be completed by the end of 2020, subject to regulary approvals. The company described this as part of its ongoing focus on speciality chemicals. It had earlier agreed to sell its chrome chemicals business to Brother Enterprises of China.
https://www.specchemonline.com/lanxess-sets-climate-neutrality-target-0
November 27, 2019
Lanxess Sells Organotin Catalysts to PMC
Lanxess sets climate-neutrality target
Lanxess has set itself a goal of eliminating its greenhouse gas emissions, currently 3.2 million tonnes/year of CO2 equivalent, by 2040. It already had a target of halving them by 2030. This will involve a three-pronged strategy, the company said:
* Launching major ‘impact projects’ for climate protection: currently planned examples include a nitrous oxide decomposition facility, due onstream at Antwerp next year and switching entirely to solar and biomass power at its Indian sites
* Decoupling emissions from growth, partly by means changes to governance, such that the impact on the company’s carbon footprint will becoming an investment criterion for organic growth and acquisitions
* Strengthening process and technological innovation, in areas like heat exchange between plants and air purification, while focusing research more towards climate-neutral processes
Matthias Zachert, chairman of the management board, said that this make Lanxess “an even more sustainable partner for our customers in the future” but also made business sense by saving costs through more efficient use of resources. However, the right policies need to be in place if the Paris Accord target of keeping average temperature increases to 2ºC or less is to be achieved. In particular, Zachert said, the German government should not jeopardise industry’s competitiveness by imposing a double burden of a national emissions trading scheme on top of the European one, as its ‘climate package’ currently proposes to do.
Separately, Lanxess Organometallics has agreed to sell its organotin specialities product line, comprising organotin catalysts and specialties plus intermediates, to the New Jersey based-PMC Group. Terms were not disclosed and the deal should close by the end of 2019. Lanxess will continue to manufacture certain products for PMC at Bergkamen in Germany under a tolling agreement.
Lanxess has also sold its 74% stake in a chrome ore mine in Rustenburg, South Africa to local firm Clover Alloys for an undisclosed amount. This should be completed by the end of 2020, subject to regulary approvals. The company described this as part of its ongoing focus on speciality chemicals. It had earlier agreed to sell its chrome chemicals business to Brother Enterprises of China.
https://www.specchemonline.com/lanxess-sets-climate-neutrality-target-0
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