BASF Sells Belgium Fertilizer Operations

Posted by |27 September 2011

BASF has signed a contract with EuroChem, Moscow, Russia, to sell its fertilizer activities in Antwerp, Belgium, according to a company statement.

BASF also plans to sell its 50% share of the joint venture PEC-Rhin in Ottmarsheim, France, to EuroChem. The total transaction value is expected to be approximately $942 million (€700 million). The divestments are subject to approval by the appropriate antitrust authorities. BASF plans to complete the transactions by the end of 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, according to the company. BASF is in the process to carve out the activities into a separate company. About 330 employees will transfer to the new company which will be acquired by EuroChem.

“With the acquisition of BASF’s fertilizer complex in Antwerp, EuroChem will be gaining high-quality production assets with superior logistics that provide it with further geographical diversification and significantly improve its proximity to European customers,” said Dmitry Strezhnev, CEO of EuroChem in a statement. “The same would be true for the 50% share of PEC-Rhin. This is in line with our strategy to increase our share in the global fertilizer industry through both organic expansion and targeted acquisitions. We are also pleased to become BASF’s long-term industrial partner on the integrated Antwerp site.”

The fertilizer 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, according to the company. BASF’s fertilizer operations in Ludwigshafen are not included in the scope of the divestment.