Chemical purchase
28 Jan 2005
In a 270 million Euro deal, German industrial giant BASF is to acquire the global Electronic Chemicals business of Merck.
Merck's Electronic Chemicals business currently supplies the semiconductor industry with a range of ultra-pure process chemicals and also offers chip manufacturers a variety of analysis-related services.
A profitable venture, in the first nine months of 2004, it increased sales by 16% to 155 million Euros. The business currently has about 600 employees.
"This transaction will allow Merck to focus its resources on highly innovative chemicals such as liquid crystals, pigments and specialty reagents,' said Thomas Schreckenbach, Merck's Executive Board Member responsible for chemicals.
The acquisition itself includes Merck's production sites and distribution centres for high-purity chemicals in Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Singapore, France, the Netherlands and Germany.
The global market for electronic chemicals was worth 3 billion Euros in 2003 and has grown by an average of 10% per year in recent years.
The transaction is still subject to approval by the regulatory authorities. Closing is expected in the second quarter of 2005.
