LANXESS : to sell business with gallium-based organometallics to Vital Materials

Seoul/Pyeongtaek - Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is taking another step to further develop its portfolio and progressing with the realignment of its organometallics business.

As envisaged by CEO Matthias Zachert during the Meeting-the-management event LANXESS has now sold its gallium-based organometallics business in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, to Vital Materials, a Chinese company specialized in rare metals. Both parties signed a respective agreement on November 28, 2019. The transaction is still subject to customary Chinese outbound investment control approvals. LANXESS expects to complete the planned transaction early in the first quarter of 2020.

At its Pyeongtaek site with around 40 employees, LANXESS produces high-purity organometallics. These advanced organometallics are used for the manufacture of LED chips and other semiconductor applications.

Global realignment of organometallics business

A few days ago, LANXESS announced that it will focus its organometallics business on the profitable growth segment of aluminium-based organometallics. At its Bergkamen site in Germany LANXESS will expand production and is therefore investing an amount in the mid-single-digit millions of euros. Aluminum-based organometallics are mainly used as catalysts in the production of high-quality plastics.

At the same time, LANXESS has sold the business with tin-based organometallics located at the same site to the PMC Group, a U.S. chemicals company. This transaction is expected to close at the end of 2019. Organometallics are part of the Advanced Industrial Intermediates business unit's portfolio.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.2 billion in 2018. The company currently has about 15,500 employees in 33 countries and is represented at 60 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.

Cologne, November 29, 2019

Forward-Looking Statements

This company release contains certain forward-looking statements, including assumptions, opinions, expectations and views of the company or cited from third party sources. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results, financial position, development or performance of LANXESS AG to differ materially from the estimations expressed or implied herein. LANXESS AG does not guarantee that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this presentation or the actual occurrence of the forecast developments. No representation or warranty (expressed or implied) is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, any information, estimates, targets and opinions, contained herein, and no liability whatsoever is accepted as to any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein, and accordingly, no representative of LANXESS AG or any of its affiliated companies or any of such person's officers, directors or employees accept any liability whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from the use of this document.