BASF Ultrafiltration Membranes now with DuPont

Following all necessary approvals, BASF has completed the sale of its ultrafiltration membrane business to DuPont’s Safety & Construction division, as announced in September 2019.

The deal for which financial details were not disclosed, includes the business’s international workforce, headquarters and production site in Greifenberg, Germany, along with associated intellectual property.

BASF’s subsidiary Inge, which manufactures ultrafiltration membranes used in treating drinking water, process water, waste water and sea water, has also transferred to DuPont. The Ludwigshafen group acquired the business from a private equity investor in 2011.

While BASF said synergies between it and Inge were “very limited,” it noted that selling it to a strategic buyer such as DuPont would provide “strong value creation potential” for the business and enable it to reach the next level of growth.

With the acquisition, DuPont said it is strengthening its portfolio of water purification and separation technologies, including ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and ion exchange resins.

“This technology in combination with Inge’s expert team further broadens our portfolio and enhances our ability to design tailored, integrated solutions for drinking water, industrial and waste water treatment applications globally,” Rose Lee, president of DuPont Safety & Construction, said at the time the deal was announced.

In another move to boost its water purification business, in mid- December DuPont signed an agreement to acquire Newton, Massachusetts-based Desalitech, a US closed circuit reverse osmosis (CCRO) company. The transaction is expected to close this month, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.  Financial terms of this agreement were also not disclosed.