On August 29, BASF announced an agreement with Japanese fine chemicals company DIC to sell its global pigments business to the latter. The transaction involves a cash-and-debt-free purchase price of €1.15 billion and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Dr. Markus Kamieth, Member of the Executive Board of BASF Europe and responsible for the Industrial Solutions business area, stated: “Our objective is to identify a company for which pigments represent a core strategic business. DIC has an ambitious growth plan and has announced its commitment to continuously develop this business over the coming years. We are confident that, under DIC’s umbrella, the pigments business will be able to fully realize its growth potential.”

DIC is a Japanese company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with approximately 20,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo and founded in 1908, the company operates in more than 60 countries across the globe. In 2018, its sales totaled roughly JPY 800 billion, equivalent to about EUR 6.8 billion. Under the corporate slogan “Creating Color and Comfort through Chemistry,” DIC is active in three business segments: packaging and printing materials, functional products, and color and display. The color and display segment includes a portfolio of pigment products.

Kaoru Ino, Representative Director and Executive Vice President of DIC, commented on the agreement: “DIC has a clear growth objective: to achieve sales of JPY 1 trillion—equivalent to approximately EUR 8 billion—by 2025. Against this backdrop, BASF’s pigments portfolio represents a highly strategic complement that will enable DIC to reach this target more rapidly. This will help us strengthen our position as one of the world’s leading pigment suppliers and provide our customers with a more diversified range of solutions.”

Dr. Alexander Haunschild, Senior Vice President of BASF’s Pigments Business and General Manager of the global pigments brand Colors & Effects, pointed out that this agreement presents an opportunity to sustain the business’s growth trajectory since 2016. He stated: “We believe DIC is a company that is committed to investing in the long-term success of the business and continuously driving innovation.”

Myron Petruch, Executive Director of DIC and CEO of Sun Chemical, a subsidiary of the group specializing in the pigments market, added: “As a long-term business partner of BASF, we highly value the expertise and commitment of BASF employees in the pigments business. By combining our operations, DIC and Sun Chemical are committed to becoming one of the world’s most innovative pigment suppliers.”

BASF’s Pigments business employs 2,600 people worldwide and recorded sales of €1 billion in 2018. DIC has approximately 20,000 employees and reported sales of €6.8 billion in 2018.