RWE sells chemicals to Sasol
11 Dec 2000
Essen-based RWE Group is to sell its chemicals business operating under the Condea name to Sasol of Johannesburg. The agreement, signed on December 8/9, puts a price on the value of the company as approximately Euro 1.3 billion.
Dr. Dietmar Kuhnt, President and CEO of RWE AG said that: 'Within the scope of its Multi-Utility strategy, RWE is concentrating on electricity, gas, water and wastewater, waste disposal and recycling as well as utility-related services.
Condea, which is part of RWE-DEA Aktiengesellschaft für Mineraloel und Chemie, Hamburg, generated total sales of Euro 2.6 billion with 4,600 employees in fiscal 1999/2000. Condea has production sites in Germany, the US, Italy, the Netherlands and China.
The company is a suppliers of detergent raw materials and ingredients, fatty alcohols, oxygenated solvents, high-purity aluminas and performance chemicals. Principal investments include Condea Vista (Houston, Texas), Condea Augusta (Milan, Italy), and Condea Servo (Delden, Netherlands).
With a staff of about 25,000, the South African Sasol group generates total sales of approx. Euro 4 billion. The company is active in mining, chemicals, synthetic fuels, oil and gas production as well as petroleum processing.
The sale is subject to RWE Supervisory Board approval and anti-trust clearance.
