BASF beefs up styrenics sell-off package

BASF has decided to add its styrenic copolymer business to the divestment process already announced for a large part of its styrenics portfolio.

The German group is also reorganizing the structure of its worldwide styrenics business, creating new subsidiaries so that they can be run independently of one another. The new companies are expected to be established in January 2009.

BASF announced in July 2007 that it was putting up for sale the lion’s share of its styrenics business, including its polystyrene and ABS operations.

It had been hoped a buyer would have been found sooner, but BASF chairman Jurgen Hambrecht said in July that more time was needed to continue the sale process (PRW.com 9 July 2008).

In today’s announcement, BASF said: “The scope of the activities to be sold will be expanded to include the styrene copolymer business. This expansion includes styrenic copolymer production plants in Ludwigshafen and Schwarzheide, Germany as well as the styrene copolymer global marketing, sales and logistics activities.”

Dr. Martin Brudermüller, member of the board of executive directors responsible for the plastics segment, said: “We are reorganizing our styrenics business to improve its future success and give us new options outside of BASF.”

The new subsidiaries will combine the commodities styrene monomers and polymers with styrene copolymers. The product lines consist of: Luran (SAN), Luran HH (AMSAN), Luran S (ASA), Terblend N (ABS/PA), Terluran HH (ABS-HH), Terlux (MABS) and Styroflex (SBS) brands.

The company said the combined styrenic commodities and copolymers operations has around 1,600 employees and had total sales of about ?4bn in 2007. Its production sites are located in Antwerp, Belgium; Ludwigshafen and Schwarzheide, Germany; Altamira, Mexico; São José dos Campos, Brazil; Dahej, India; and Ulsan, South Korea.

The sale will leave BASF with remaining styrenic plastics activities centred on its foams business for the construction and packaging industries as part of the Performance Polymers division.