COLOGNE, Germany—Lanxess A.G. and BASF S.E. have signed an agreement regarding BASF's purchase of the polyisobutene business, consisting of mainly intellectual property for a new technology to produce high molecular weight polyisobutene (HM PIB).
Lanxess said in a May 11 news release that it will manufacture the new HM PIB line exclusively for BASF under a long-term toll manufacturing agreement, and BASF will market the product under the name Oppanol N.
The firms said the transaction is related to HM PIB only. Other PIB offerings by BASF will not be affected. Both companies would not disclose financial terms of the deal.
“The acquired technology provides an excellent opportunity of BASF to jointly grow together with our customers,” Martin Widmann, senior vice president of BASF's Fuel and Lubricant Solutions unit, said in a statement. “The transaction will result in enhanced security of HM PIB supply and it provides the basis for long-term oriented sustainable growth with high quality products for a broad range of applications.”
BASF said it has more than 75 years of manufacturing PIB. The firm reported sales of more than $82.7 billion in 2014 with about 113,000 employees worldwide.
Lanxess is a specialty chemicals manufacturer that employs about 16,300 in 29 countries with 52 production sites worldwide. It reported 2014 sales of about $9 billion.