BASF has confirmed it is looking to sell its Construction Chemicals unit, or find a merger partner for it, with an acceptable deal hoping to be completed in 2019.
A spokesperson for BASF told TJ: “As part of our active portfolio management, we are continuously evaluating if businesses could unfold their potential even more in a different set up, e.g. in a joint venture or outside of BASF.
“Therefore, we decided to evaluate strategic options for our Construction Chemicals division to ensure a successful business development in the long-term. Furthermore, the market currently offers attractive consolidation opportunities.
“The outcome of assessing strategic options is open. This means, we consider a merger with a strong partner as well as a divestiture.We strive to sign an agreement in the course of 2019.”
Following the release of the company’s third quarter results, BASF Chief Executive Martin Brudermuellertold journalists, “Neither are we satisfied with the (group) business development nor with our share price development.”
BASF’s finance chief Hans-Ulrich Engel was also quoted as saying, “The unit has a very low degree of integration into the rest of the BASF network and it does not fully meet our expectations regarding profitability.”
More soon…
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