Archroma acquires BASF's textile chemicals business

Archroma, a portfolio company of private investment firm SK Capital Partners and a supplier of specialty chemicals to the textile, paper and emulsions industries, has agreed to buy the Germany-based BASF’s global textile chemicals business. This marks a second major investment by SK Capital Partners in textile chemicals space after its acquisition of Clariant’s three businesses - textile chemicals, paper specialties, and emulsions - for approximately $500 million in December 2012 that lead to establishment of Archoma.
 
The acquired business of BASF is expected to be integrated into the Archroma Textile Chemicals Specialties business. Currently, the textile chemicals business is part of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division. The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities and the closing is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2015. The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details.
 
The transaction comprises the global textile chemicals business, as well as the legal entity BASF Pakistan (Private) Ltd, Karachi. About 290 positions globally are in the scope of the transaction, thereof approximately 230 in Asia. This step is in line with BASF’s strategy of actively managing its portfolio and it will further sharpen the focus of the Performance Products segment on growth driven customer industries.
 
“In a very competitive and highly fragmented market, we have successfully positioned the textile chemicals business as one of the leading global textile suppliers. The current consolidation process of the industry means that a critical mass is necessary to grow the business successfully. We see positive future growth prospects for the business under the umbrella of Archroma, building on the expertise and professionalism of our textile chemicals team,” said Hans Reiners, President of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division.
 
The textile chemicals business of BASF offers solutions to the full textile processing value chain, which includes a portfolio for pre-treatment, printing, finishing and coating. The business has a global presence with a strong focus on Asian growth markets, and is headquartered in Singapore.