In addition to the sale of its downstream share in polyamide activities as required by the EU – see Plasteurope.com of 18.01.2019 – German chemical giant BASF (Ludwigshafen; www.basf.com) also intends to divest its Pigments business by the end of 2020. A BASF spokesperson told Plasteurope.com that the sale process is still in the early stages. No information was given regarding names of potential buyers or the possible proceeds from the sale.

With this decision, BASF follows competitor Clariant (Pratteln / Switzerland; www.clariant.com). The Swiss speciality chemicals group also intends, by the end of 2020, to sell its activities with pigments, standard masterbatches and materials for medical technology with sales of just under CHF 1.6 bn – see Plasteurope.com of 19.09.2018. Here, a consolidation is evidently underway.

The BASF division with colourants and effect pigments as well as preparations for applications such as plastics, colours, coatings and cosmetics employs a staff of 2,600 and in 2018 generated sales of around EUR 1 bn. It is unclear how much formulations for plastics contribute to this figure.

In a press briefing on financial results on 26 February 2019, CEO Martin Brudermüller emphasised that the segment does not have the same “firm integration in the Verbund” as the other divisions. The business, which focuses production in Germany and Switzerland, is not driven by innovation and the market is showing slow growth. Around a dozen plants or parts of plants worldwide are affected by the move – three sites in Germany, four in the US as well as production in France, the Netherlands, South Korea and Switzerland.

Financially, 2018 was a difficult year for BASF, in particular due to the low water levels of the Rhine river – see Plasteurope.com of 27.02.2019.