DIC is a Japanese company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with approximately 20,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo, the company was founded in 1908 and operates in more than 60 countries around the world, with sales in 2018 of about 800 billion yen, equivalent to about 6.8 billion euros. Under the slogan "Chemistry creates color and comfort", DIC is active in three areas: packaging and printing materials, functional products and color and display. Among them, the color and display business area includes pigment product portfolio. Kaoru Ino, DIC's representative director and president executive director, said of the agreement: "DIC has a clear growth target of 1,000 billion yen, equivalent to about 8 billion euros, by 2025. In this context, the BASF pigment portfolio is an important strategic addition for us, enabling DIC to reach its targets more rapidly. This will help us expand our position as one of the world's leading pigment suppliers and provide our customers with more diversified solutions."

Dr. Alexander Haunschild, senior vice president of BASF pigment business and general manager of global pigment brand Colors & Effects, pointed out that the agreement provides an opportunity for the business to continue its growth since 2016. He said: "We believe DIC is an enterprise willing to invest in and innovate continuously for the long-term success of the business."

Myron Petruch, Executive Director of DIC and CEO of Sun Chemical, a group company focused on the pigment market, added: "As a long-term business partner of BASF, we value the expertise and engagement of BASF's employees in the pigment business. By combining our businesses, DIC and Sun Chemical are committed to becoming one of the most innovative pigment suppliers in the world."

BASF pigments business has 2600 employees worldwide and sales of 1 billion euros in 2018. DIC employs around 20000 people and had sales of € 6.8 billion million in 2018.