As part of the agreement, around 300 employees are expected to transfer from BASF to LDC upon completion of the transaction, as the Ludwigshafen-based company announced on Monday. The German site in Illertissen will also change hands. The parties did not disclose the price for the Food and Health Performance Ingredients division, which includes whipping and beating agents, food emulsifiers and omega-3 oils for human nutrition.
Although the business benefits from trends in human nutrition and has developed well in recent years, it offers only limited synergies for BASF. "The divestment of this business to LDC supports our strategic portfolio optimization and allows us to focus on our core Nutrition & Health businesses," explained BASF Board of Executive Directors member Michael Heinz. The business with vitamins, carotenoids and feed enzymes is to be expanded.
In September, the new CEO Markus Kamieth announced a comprehensive reorganization of the Group in order to get the world's largest chemical company back on track. Some business units are to be sold and the agricultural business floated on the stock exchange. Shareholders must also be prepared for a significant reduction in the dividend.
(Report by Oliver Hirt. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)