International. After obtaining the approval of all relevant authorities, BASF and Solenis completed the announced merger of BASF's paper and water treatment chemicals business with Solenis.
With pro forma sales of approximately $3 billion, the resulting company will operate under the Solenis brand; is positioned to offer an even wider range of chemicals and cost-effective solutions for customers in the pulp, paper, oil and gas, chemical processing, mining, biorefinement, energy, municipal and other industrial markets.
BASF will own 49% of the resulting company, while the remaining 51% will be collectively owned by Solenis management and funds managed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). The new Solenis has about 5,200 employees and a higher volume of sales, service capacity and production worldwide.
The merger includes the Paper and Water Treatment assets of BASF's High Performance Chemicals unit, including production sites in Bradford and Grimsby, UK; Suffolk, Virginia (USA); Altamira (Mexico); Ankleshwar (India) and Kwinana (Australia), as well as related assets, including intellectual property. BASF's paper coating chemicals business is not part of the transaction.
"The union of our strong heritages creates a leading global provider of customer-centric solutions for the paper and water treatment industries. Customers in these industries will benefit from the combination of our strengths, resulting in a range of products and services, cutting-edge innovations and unparalleled know-how that complement each other perfectly," said John Panichella, President and CHIEF Executive Officer of Solenis.
"Joining forces with Solenis is the right step for BASF's paper and water treatment chemicals business to maintain sustainable growth. Together, we will offer the widest range of products and services to meet the needs of the paper and water treatment industry for specialty chemicals," added Anup Kothari, President of BASF's High Performance Chemicals division.
"Bringing these two highly successful and complementary companies together creates a global company with greater prospects for long-term growth and value creation," said David Scheible, solenis president and CD&R operations advisor.
