BASF and Solvay Complete PA Deal
Following all approvals and the transfer of its European polyamide business to Domo, Solvay has completed the sale of its non-European PA activities to BASF for €1.3 billion on a cash and debt-free basis.
Through the deal, which assigns an enterprise value of €1.6 billion to the assets, the German chemicals and plastics giant will be able to back-integrate its Performance Materials and Monomers division into key raw material adiponitrile (ADN) and be present at all stages of the entire value chain for PA 6.6.
Concerns about BASF’s domination of the PA 6.6 supply chain worldwide and fears that this would trigger price increases for ADN in particular led the European Commission to mandate that Solvay find a third party to take the European businesses.
The Commission approved the acquisition in its final guise on Jan. 18. Domo, the Belgian family-owned company based at Leuna in eastern Germany, thus has gained production sites for PA 6.6 in France, Spain and Poland.
Domo said earlier that the strong reputation of Solvay’s Technyl brand would complement its Domamid range of engineered and virgin nylon resins grades as well as its Econamid range of recycled nylons.
The transaction between Solvay and BASF includes eight production sites in Germany, France, China, India, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico as well as R&D bases and technical consultation centers in Asia, North and South America.
Also part of the BASF-Solvay deal are shares in two joint ventures. These include Solvay’s 50% share in Butachimie, a jv with Invista at Chalampé, France producing ADN and hexamethylenediamine (HMD) as well as a 51% share in the newly created Alsachimie joint venture between BASF and Domo that produces adipic acid.
At closing, BASF said it would absorb around 700 Solvay employees, without commenting on whether it plans to keep the number constant, reduce or increase staff. “With a broader portfolio, a stronger regional presence and improved supply reliability, BASF will deliver significant benefits to its customers, said managing board member Wayne T. Smith.
Domo meanwhile has announced the appointment of Yves Bonte as its new CEO, replacing Alex Seghers. Bonte is currently executive vice president industrial at Norwegian fertilizer group Yara.
