BASF to Sell Fertilizer Activities

The activities have a total annual capacity of approximately 2.5 million metric tons of fertilizer and account for less than 1% of BASF Group’s total sales. BASF plans to complete the transaction by the first quarter of 2012.

3/2/2011 --- BASF plans to sell major parts of its fertilizers activities. This comprises production plants in Antwerp, Belgium and BASF’s 50% share of the joint venture PEC-Rhin in Ottmarsheim, France. The activities have a total annual capacity of approximately 2.5 million metric tons of fertilizer and account for less than 1% of BASF Group’s total sales. BASF plans to complete the transaction by the first quarter of 2012.

In Antwerp, the scope includes plants for CAN/AN (calcium ammonium nitrate/ammonium nitrate) fertilizers, Nitrophoska fertilizers and nitrophosphoric acid as well as three related nitric acid plants. In a first step, it is planned to carve out the activities into a 100% BASF subsidiary. About 330 employees will transfer to the new company and later to the future purchaser. BASF also plans to sell its shares in PEC-Rhin, which produces CAN/AN fertilizers and the respective intermediates, ammonia and nitric acid. The company is a 50-50 joint venture with GPN, a member of the French Total group, and currently has about 190 employees.
 
The plants in Ludwigshafen are not included in the carve out as they have an essential function for important value chains within the Verbund site.
 
“Our fertilizer activities are profitable, but do not belong to our strategic core business,” said Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, responsible for the Chemicals segment. “Our very skilled team and the highly competitive plants will have a sustainable future and will create additional value with a strategic purchaser whose core business is fertilizer.”
 
BASF’s fertilizer activities are mainly focused on Europe. In 2000, a distribution contract between BASF and K+S Nitrogen (formerly fertiva) for all fertilizers produced by BASF was signed.