BASF to acquire Ticona’s nylon business

BASF will acquire the worldwide nylon 6,6 business of Ticona, the technical polymers business of Celanese AG. The sale will be effective December 31, 2003. Terms of the transaction were not announced, however Ticona’s nylon business generated about 45 million euro in 2002.
BASF will obtain all intellectual property rights, licenses and customer lists for Ticona’s nylon 6,6 products. BASF will not acquire any manufacturing sites, equipment or related assets as part of the transaction. Ticona will continue to compound nylon 6,6 for BASF from its Bishop, TX and Florence, KY sites for a period of time, pursuant to a transitional services agreement.
"As a world-leading supplier of nylon 6, BASF’s acquisition of Ticona’s nylon 6,6 business will complement and enhance the range of product solution we can offer," said Raimar Jahn, president of BASF’s Performance Polymers division.
Lyndon Cole, a member of the Celanese management board said the sale of Ticona’s nylon 6,6 business is another step in Celanese’s overall strategy of focusing on those products which hold a leading global market position.