Germany embraces expansion

18 December 2006 00:00  [Source: ICB]

The country's chemical companies took the buying plunge this year, with majors such as BASF, Bayer and Linde highly active in the mergers and acquisitions marketplace

This year will go down as the one in which German chemical companies embraced merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in a big way. After warming up in 2005 with the €270m ($358m) purchase of Merck's global electronic chemical business, BASF executed no less than three major deals in 2005: the $5.6bn (€4.2bn) purchase of Engelhard in the US, the €2.2bn purchase of Degussa's construction chemicals business and the $470m acquisition of Johnson Polymer, also in the US.

Not to be left out, Bayer clinched the €17.1bn takeover of fellow German drug maker Schering Merck, having missed out on Schering, acquired Swiss drugs firm Serono for €10.5bn, and industrial gases and engineering firm Linde snapped up UK rival BOC for €12bn. And Altana was sold to Denmark's Nycomed for €4.5bn.

That means that German players were involved in six of the 15 billion-dollar deals reported by ICIS Chemical Business during the year (a listing of all M&A deals reported by the magazine from mid-November 2005 to the end of November 2006 begins below).

There has also been M&A activity by German companies at a lower price level. Brenntag bought UK distributor Albion Chemicals Group only to be sold itself to BC Partners Degussa bought Dow Chemical's super-absorbents business and Bayer sold its HC Starck unit to Advent International and the Carlyle Group for €1.2bn. PVC producer Vestolit was sold by owner Candover to a US equity fund-backed management buy-out.

From the German office of UK private equity firm Close Brothers, Wolfgang Kazmierowski tells ICIS Chemical Business that the German chemicals industry has undergone massive structural changes. "The major challenges and changes for the German chemicals industry derive from globalisation," he says. "Increasing competition from new producers in emerging markets and resource-rich regions, rising oil prices and greater regulation have all made life much harder for the traditional industry players."

In general, scale and cost base are keys to success. Kazmierowski believes that this competition has led to much of the M&A activity, in a bid by the larger companies to secure market share, while smaller companies focus on carving out niche markets.

It has also led to considerable interest from private equity firms, as there are plenty of opportunities around and chemical targets fit the nature of their business model. Kazmierowski believes that private equity appetite will remain strong for 2007, due to the sustainable cash flows of chemicals and the free liquidity to be invested.

European action

ICI sold its Uniqema and Quest businesses during the year for €596m and €1.76bn respectively, and below the $1bn line there has been plenty of European action. SABIC bought Huntsman's European petrochemicals activities, adding to the DSM assets it acquired some years before and Permira made a successful bid for Hungary's BorsodChem, maker of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethanes (PU). Other major deals included Lonza's purchases of business units from Cambrex, UCB and Genentech in fine chemicals/biologics, and Kali und Salz's take-over of Chilean salt producer Sociedad Punta de Lobos for $477m.

Judging by the amount of funding around, as a result of the strong balance sheets of many of the major chemical producers and the liquidity of the private equity players, 2007 will continue to be an active year for M&A transactions. There are plenty of buyersand many firms still want to streamline their portfolios and improve business quality.

Producers with businesses up for sale include Akzo Nobel, which is planning to spin off its pharmaceutical business in an initial public offering, and remains on the look-out for buyers for its PVC additives and remaining methylamine choline chloride businesses. Akzo Nobel also plans to sell its 50% stake in rubber chemicals joint venture Flexys. At the start of December, Norway's Norsk Hydro said that it was considering divesting or listing its Hydro Polymers petrochemicals business.

Arkema expects to complete the sale of its phosphates business Cerexagri to United Phosphorus for €111m by March 2007, and is looking to sell its urea-formaldehyde resins division based in Leuna, Germany.

Just like this time last year, the message on M&A is very much "watch this space."

M&A listing 2006

Company buying/Acquired	Location	Business	Stake	Cost
ABN Amro Capital France/Novartis	France/Switzerland	Nutrition & Sante (N&S) business unit	acq	€200m
Actis South Asia Fund 2/Ceylon Oxygen	UK/Sri Lanka	Yara sells stake in industrial and medical gas company	acq 70.85% stake
Addcon Agrar/Yara	Germany/Norway	formates unit	acq
Agrium/Nu-Gro Fertilisers	Canada/US	fertilizer production	acq	$86m
Agrium/Pursell Technologies	Canada/US	specialty fertilizer company	acq	$74.5m
Airgas/Aeriform	US/US	distributor	acq
Airgas/Linde	US/Germany	eight US air-separation plants	acq	€386m
Akzo Nobel/Khimreserv	Netherlands/Ukraine	decorative coatings business	acq 51%
Akzo Nobel/Sico	Netherlands/Canada	coatings company	acq	€210m
Albemarle/DSM	US/Netherlands	purchase of assets and business associated with DSM's pharmaceutical production site in Michigan, US	acq	€25m
Alexion Pharmaceuticals/Dow Chemical	US/US	biopharmaceutical plant in Rhode Island	acq
Altana Chemie/Invex	Germany/Italy	Brazilian electrical insulation production assets	acq
Apollo Management/General Electric	US/US	GE Advanced Materials' silicones and quartz business unit	acq	$3.8bn
Arch Chemicals/Nordesclor	US/Brazil	Votorantim Group's 50% share in Nordesclor	to 100%
Arques Group/Degussa	Germany/Germany	Oxxynova dimethyl terephthalate business	acq	€22m
Arysta LifeScience North America/Micro Flo	US/Germany	BASF's manufacturer and distributor of off-patent crop protection chemicals	acq
Asahi Kasei Fibres/Lanxess	Japan/Germany	Dorlastan fibres business	acq
Ashland/Degussa	US/Germany	water chemicals business	acq
Ashland/Northwest Coatings	US/US	manufacturer of adhesives and coatings	acq
Balchem/Bio-Additives & CMB Additives	US/US	aqueous choline chloride plant in St Gabriel, Louisiana, US	acq
Basell/Akzo Nobel	Netherlands/Netherlands	catalysts and components business based in the US	acq
Basell/HMC Polymers Company	Netherlands/Thailand	polypropylene producer	acq 5% stake
Basell/PolyMirae	Netherlands/S Korea	polypropylene producer	acq 10% stake
Basell/Shell	Netherlands/UK	Berre jv cracker site	to 100%
Basell/SunAllomer	Netherlands/Japan	polypropylene producer	acq 16.7% stake
BASF Japan/BASF Takeda Vitamins	Japan/Japan	Takeda Pharmaceutical's stake in bulk vitamins jv	to 100%
BASF/Air Products	Germany/US	dinitrotoluene plant in Geismar, Louisiana	acq
BASF/CropDesign	Germany/Belgium	plant biotechnology company	acq
BASF/Degussa	Germany/Germany	construction chemicals business	acq	€2.2bn
BASF/Engelhard	Germany/US		acq	$5.6bn
BASF/Johnson Polymer	Germany/US	resin manufacturer	acq	$470m
BASF/Repsol YPF	Germany/Spain	co-polymer business	acq
Bayer Healthcare/Topsun Science and Technology	Germany/China	pharmaceutical business	acq	€107.3m
Bayer Innovation/Icon Genetics	Germany/Germany	plant-made pharmaceutical production	acq
Bayer/Schering	Germany/Germany	drugs company	acq	€17.1bn
BC Partners/Brenntag	UK/Germany	industrial and specialty chemicals	acq
Belgian Consortium/CIS bio international	Belgium/Germany	Schering's radio-pharmaceutical business	acq
BNP/Sanofi Aventis	France/France	stake in Rhodia	acq 7.98% stake	€193m
Braskem/Politeno	Brazil/Brazil	polyethylene producer	to 100%
Brenntag/Albion Chemicals Group	Germany/UK	chemical distributor	acq
Brenntag/Los Angeles Chemical Group of Companies	Germany/US	chemical distributor based in Southgate, California	acq
Brenntag/Schweizerhall Chemie	Germany/Switzerland	chemical distributor	acq	€60m
Brunei Investment Agency/Phosphate Mines	Brunei/Jordan	phosphate production	acq 37% stake
Canada-Spur Ventures/Hebei Tianeren Chemical	Canada/China	fertilizer-related businesses	acq	Can$15.5m
Cargill/Central Energetica Vale do Sapucai	US/Brazil	stake in sugar and ethanol producer	acq 63% stake
Cargill/Degussa	US/Germany	food ingredients business	acq
Carlyle Group/Stahl International	US/ Netherlands	surface effects business	acq
Cathay Pigments/ISK Magnetics	Australia/US	producer and supplier of magnetic iron oxides for audio/data applications	acq
Celanese/Acetate Products	US/UK	Corsadi Group's cellulose acetate flake, tow and film activities	acq
Chemtura/Trace Chemicals	US/US	farmer-applied seed treatments	acq
Chevron/Reliance Petroleum	US/India	stake in company	5% stake	$300m
China National BlueStar/Rhodia	China/France	silicones business	acq
China National Offshore Oil Corporation/China National Chemical Construction Corporation	China/China	fertilizer company	acq
China North Industries Group Corp (CNGC)/Liaoning Huajin Tongda Chemical	China/China	fertilizer producer	acq 60% stake
Chisso Asahi Fertilizer/Chisso & Asahi Kasei Chemicals	Japan/Japan	merger of R&D and production operations into existing jv firm	63:35 jv
Ciech/Zaklady Chemiczne Organika Zachem	Poland/Poland	epichlorohydrin producer	acq 80% stake	€17.9m
Ciech/Zaklady Chemiczne Organika-Sarzyna	Poland/Poland	epoxy polyester and phenol-formaldehyde resins and pesticides	acq 80% stake	€63.4m
Clariant/Ciba Specialty Chemicals	Switzerland/Switzerland	masterbatches business	acq
Close Brothers Private Equity/Chemtura	UK/US	non-core industrial water additives business	acq	€66m
Croda International/Uniqema	UK/UK	specialty olechemicals	acq	€596m
Cytec Industries/American Melamine Industries	US/US	DSM's sells 50% stake in melamine joint venture	50% to 100%
DC Chemical & One Equity Partners/Columbian Chemicals	South Korea/US	Phelps Dodge carbon black subsidiary	acq	€493m
Degussa/Dow Chemical	Germany/US	super-absorbents business	acq
Degussa/Fujian Nanping Xinyuan Investment Co (Degussa Wellink Silica (Nanping) Co (DWS))	Germany/China	performance silica joint venture	60:40 jv
Di Oils/Lubrizol	UK/UK	purchase of Bromborough,UK, factory	acq	€4.5m
Dial/Procter & Gamble	US/US	Henkel subsidiary buys deodorant brands	acq	$240m
Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals/Carbogen Amcis	India/Switzerland	Solutia's Switzerland-based pharmaceuticals research business	acq	$75m
Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals/IO3S	India/Switzerland	ozone chemistry	acq
Dow Chemical/Zhejiang Omex Environmental Engineering	US/China	water treatment and design company	acq
Dr Reddy/Betapharm	India/Germany	generic drug company	acq
Dr Reddy/Roche	India/Mexico	Roche's API business in Mexico	acq	$59m
DSM Venturing/Sciona	Netherlands/US	personalised nutrition company	acq major shareholding
DuPont Chemical Solutions/Belco Technologies	US/US	air pollution control	acq
Egeplast Werner Strumman/Solvay	Germany/Belgium	HexelOne reinforced plastic pipe technology	acq
Egeria/Lanxess	Netherlands/Germany	textile processing chemicals business	acq	€54m
Elastogran/Chemtura	Germany/US	Witcothane business	acq
ETL Semko KK/Electro-magnetic Compatibility	UK/Japan	Akzo Nobel's electromagnetic business	acq	€13m
Fact/Arkema	Germany/Germany	Pryltex long glass fibre polypropylene unit	acq
Firestone Building Products/Omnova Solutions	US/US	GenFlex Building Products business	acq	€31.5m
Frutarom/Gewurzmuhle Nesse	Israel/Germany	Flavouring and food ingredients	acq 70%	Euro18.4m
Fuji Electronic Materials/Planar Solutions	US/US	Arch Chemicals's 50% share	acq 50% stake	$17m
Fuji Photo Film Co/Avecia	Japan/UK	inkjet business	acq	$260m
Georgia Gulf/Royal Group Technologies	US/Canada	plastics building products	acq	€1.2bn
Gilead Sciences/Raylo Chemicals	Canada/Canada	Degussa's reduces stake	acq stake	€115m
Givaudan/ICI	Switzerland/UK	Quest flavours and fragrances	acq	€1.7bn
Graceway Pharmaceuticals/3M	US/US	pharmaceutical business in US, Canada and Latin America	acq	$875m
Greif/Delta Petroleum	US/US	Riverside Company's blender and packager of chemicals business
Grupo Nutec/Cookson	Mexico/UK	ceramic fibres jv	50% - 100%	$2m
Hamilton Robinson/Davis Standard	US/US	Chemtura's stake in the polymer processing and equipment joint venture	to 100%	€56m
HB Fuller/Henkel	US/Germany	insulating glass sealant business	acq
Henkel/ICI	Germany/UK	Cimsec tile adhesive and grouts business	acq
Henkel/Procter & Gamble	Germany/	deodorant brands	acq
Hexion Specialty Chemicals/Akzo Nobel	US/Netherlands	inks and adhesives resins business	acq	€88m
Hexion Specialty Chemicals/Rhodia	US/France	decorative coatings and adhesives business	acq
Hexion Specialty Chemicals/Orica	US/Australia	adhesives and resins business	acq
Honeywell/UOP	US/US	Buys out Dow Chemical's half share	acq
Huntsman/Ciba Specialty Chemicals	US/Switzerland	textile effects business	acq	€212m
ICI/Shaw Mudge & Company	UK/US	fragrance business	acq
IM Skaugen/Zhangjagang Shenghui Chemical Machinery (Shenghui Gas & Chemical Systems (Zhangjiagang))	Norway/China	marine equipment manufacturer	jv
Incitec Pivot/Southern Cross Fertilizers	Australia/Australia	BHP Billiton's ammonium phosphate business	acq	€100m
INEOS/BP	UK/UK	ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol business based in Dormagen	acq
International Chemical Investors Group/Albemarle	Germany/US	potassium chloride chemicals facility in France	acq
Investor/Celanese Corporation	US/US	Blackstone reduces stake from 52% to 30%	stake 22%	$744m
Ironbridge Capital & Archer Capital/3M	Australia/US	pharmaceutical business in Asia-Pacific, including Australia and South Africa	acq	$349m
Johnson & Johnson/Pfizer	US/US	consumer healthcare business	acq
Johnson Matthey/Davy Process Technology	UK/Russia	UK-based process technology company bought from Yukos	acq	€58m
Kali und Salz/Sociedad Punta de Lobos	Germany/Chile	salt producer	acq	$477m
Kemira Growhow/Terra Industries	Finland/UK	fertilizer and associated process chemicals business	50:50 jv
Kemira/Cytec Industries	Finland/US	water treatment chemicals unit and acrylamide product lines	acq	$240m
Kemira/Lanxess	Finland/Germany	paper chemicals business	acq	€88m
Kemira/Metachem Industrial e Comercial	Finland/Brazil	additives joint venture	51:49 jv
Koch Industries/Georgia Pacific	US/US	paper production	acq	$13.2bn
Koch Industries/Simplot	US/Canada	Simplot's fertilizer activities business	acq
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Goldman Sachs/Kion	Germany/Germany	Linde's material handling business	acq	€4bn
La Seda de Barcelona/Advansa	Spain/Turkey	Sabanci-owned PTA/PET manufacturer	acq
Lam Soon Group/Akzo Nobel	Malaysia/Netherlands	olechemicals jv	65% to 100%	€24m
Lee Chang Yung Chemical Industry Corp/Taiwan Polypropylene Co	Taiwan/Taiwan	Basell's 36% stake in polypropylene company	acq 36% stake
Linde/BOC	Germany/UK	industrial gases	acq	€12bn
Linde/Karbogaz	Germany/Turkey	industrial gases producer	acq
Lion Chemical/Chemtura	US/US	EPDM and rubber chemicals business	acq
Lonza/Cambrex	Switzerland/US	Research Bioproducts and Microbial Biopharmaceutical businesses	acq	€367m
Lonza/Celanese	Switzerland/US	omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid business	acq
Lonza/UCB	Switzerland/Belgium	bioproducts division	acq	€120m
Lord Corporation/Henkel	US/Germany	rubber-to-metal bonding chemicals business	acq
L'Oreal/Body Shop	France/UK	cosmetics business	acq	€941m
Lyondell Chemical/Lyondell-Citgo Refining	US/US	Citgo Petroleum's 41.25% stake in the LCR joint venture in Texas	58.75% to 100%	$2.1bn
MAE/Lereno Sdn Bhd	Singapore/Malaysia	stake in biodiesel business	acq 38% stake	€4.7m
Malladi Drugs and Pharmaceuticals/Novus Fine Chemicals	India/US	bulk drugs facility	acq	€19m
MBO/Calgon Carbon	Germany/US	charcoal and derivatives business	acq	$19m
MBO/Solvitol	UK/UK	aerosols and chemical manufacturer	acq	€4.7m
Meda/3M	Sweden/US	pharmaceutical business in Europe	acq	$857m
Megtec Systems/Calgon Carbon	US/US	solvent recovery business	acq
Merck KGAA/Serono	Germany/Switzerland	biopharmaceutical company	acq	€10.5bn
Mitsubishi Corp/Kohijin	China/Japan	fine chemicals	acq	€59.5m
Mitsui Chemicals/Sankyo Agro	Japan/Japan	Daiichi Sankyo's agrichemical business	acq	€280m
Monsanto/Delta & Pine Lane	US/US	cotton seed company	acq	$1.5bn
Novartis/Sankyo Lifetech Company	Switzerland/Japan	animal health business	acq
Nuon/Helianthos	Netherlands/Netherlands	Akzo Nobel's solar cell production venture	acq
Nycomed/Altana	Denmark/Germany	pharmaceutical business	acq	€4.5bn
Nylex/CKG	Malaysia/Singapore	chemicals distributor	acq	€20m
Oaktree Capital Management/Nordenia International	US/Germany	polyethylene film extruder	acq
Oldcastle Materials/APAC	US/US	Ashland's paving and construction subsidiary	acq	$1.3bn
Omya/JM Huber	Switzerland/US	paper minerals business	acq
Orica/Dyno Nobel	Australia/Denmark	commercial explosives	acq
Orica/Minova	Australia/UK	chemical products for mining and civil engineering industries	acq	€515.5m
Otsuka Chemical/Borregaard Taicang Chemicals	Japan/Norway	Borregaard's carbamate pesticides business	acq
PCS/Sinofert	Canada/China	increased stake in fertilizer distributor	10% to 20%	$125m
Performance Fibers Holdings/Invista Resins & Fibers	US/Germany	polyester yarn business	acq
Permira/BorsodChem	UK/Hungary	polyvinyl chloride and isocyanates firm	acq	€870m
Perstorp/Hansol Chemicals	Sweden/South Korea	stake in South Korean trimethyl propane jv	to 100%
Petrobras Quimica/Companhia Integrada Textil do Nodeste (Companhia Integrada Textil de Pernambuco)	Brazil/Brazil	jv to make POY	40:60 jv
Petrochem Middle East/Matrix Chemical	Dubai/US	chemical wholesaler	acq
PKN Orlen/Mazeikiu Nafta	Poland/Lithuania	refining company	acq
PPG Industries/Ameron International	US/US	performance coatings and finishes business	acq	$115m
PPG Industries/Dongui Industrial	US/South Korea	increased stake in coatings business	50% to 100%
PPG Industries/Protec (including Fortec Paints)	US/Australia	car refinish coatings	acq
PPG Industries/Spectra-Tone	US/US	architectural paint and coatings manufacturer	acq
PQ Corp/INEOS Silicas	US/US	North American sodium metasilicate business	acq
Private Equity/Industrial Water Additives	UK/US	Chemtura's water division	acq
Private Equity (Advent International & The Carlyle Group)/Bayer	UK-US/Germany	rare metals and electronic chemicals business, HC Starck	acq	€1.2bn
RAG/Degussa	Germany/Germany	chemical producer	acq
Reilly Industries/Rutherford Chemicals (Vertellus Specialties)	US/US	merged by Arsenal Capital	merger
Rentech/Royster-Clark	US/US	Fischer-Tropsch coal-to-liquids and gas-to-liquids technology	acq
Rexam/Precise Technology	UK/US	plastics packaging	acq	$257m
Rhodia/Societe Generale	France/France	CO2 trading activities jv	jv
Rockwood Chemical Specialties/Rohm and Haas	US/US	wood-treatment joint venture effective from January 07	50:50 jv
SABIC/Huntsman	Saudi Arabia/US	European base chemicals and polymers business	acq	€550m
SABIC/Kayan	Saudi Arabia/Saudi Arabia	partnership agreement in Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company	35%/20% stake
San Paolo IMI/Biolchim	Italy/Finland	Kemira sells 50% stake in Italian specialty fertilizer unit	acq 50% stake
Shasun Chemicals & Drugs/Rhodia	India/France	Pharma Solutions business	acq
Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corporation/Lonza	Taiwan/Switzerland	LOFO films business	acq
Sibeco/Sepulchre (Azelis Benelux)	Belgium/Belgium	Azelis merges two operating companies
Siemens/Bayer	Germany/Germany	diagnostics equipment business	acq
Sigma-Aldrich/Beijing Superior Chemicals and Instruments	US/China	distributor	acq
Sika/Covercrete Flooring Systems	Switzerland/Canada	polyurethane flooring producer	acq	€3.4m
Sika/Sucoflex	Switzerland/Switzerland	Huber+Suhner's roofing and waterproofing business	acq
Sinochem Group/Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Group	China/China	increased stake in potash manufacturing	1.13% to 26.13% stake
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM)/DSM	Chile/Chile	DSM's iodine production facilities	acq
Solutia/Quimica M	US/Mexico	Mexican polyvinyl butyral jv	49% - 100%
Solvay/Mississippi Polymer Technologies (MPT)	Belgium/US	ultra performance polymer business	acq
Snow, Phipps & Guggenheim/Hercules	US/US	FiberVisions speciality polyolefins fibres producer	acq 51% stake	$109m
Stork Industry Services/Akzo Nobel Base Chemicals	Netherlands/Netherlands	technical services department at Botlek industrial site	acq
Sud-Chemie/WD-Giesserei-Technik	Germany/Germany	specialty resins business	acq
Sud-Chemie/Tricat Zeolites	Germany/Germany	zeolite catalyst producer	acq
Sun Capital Partners/Lubrizol	US/US	non-core food ingredients and industrial specialties operations	acq	$270m
Supreme Petrochem/Shin Ho Petrochemicals (India)	India/India	polystyrene producer	acq 55%
Syngenta/Emergent Genetics Vegetable	Germany/Netherlands	seed firm	acq
Taiyo Nippon Sanso/Linde & BOC	Japan/Germany	helium assets	acq
Taminco/Air Products	US/US	amines business	acq
Tata Chemicals/Brunner Mond	India/UK	soda ash production	acq	€94.73m
Tatar-American Investments & Finance (TAIF)/Nizhnekamskneftekhim	US/Russia	chemical producer	acq 28.6% stake
TDG/Mond	UK/Belgium	specialty chemicals	acq	€26.3m
Texas Petrochemicals/Huntsman	US/US	US butadiene and MTBE business	acq
Tikkurila/Kraski Teks	Finland/Russia	paint manufacturer	acq	$40m
Toagosei/Mitsui Chemicals AquaPolymer (MT AquaPolymer)	Japan/Japan	polymer flocculant business merger	51:49 jv
Tosoh Corp/Nippon Polyurethane Industry	Japan/Japan	increased stake in polyurethane company	35% to 51%
Total/Cepsa	France/Spain	increased stake in chemical producer	44.48% to 48.83% stake	€53m
Tower Brook Capital Partners/Clariant	UK/Switzerland	pharma and fine chemicals business	acq
Trelleborg/Reeves Brothers	Sweden/US	polymer coated fabrics producer	acq	€1.4m
Trutzschler Group/GEA Group	Germany/Germany	Fleissner textile machinery manufacturing business	acq
UCB/Schwarz Pharma	Belgium/Germany	drugs company	acq	€4.4m
Umicore/Solvay (Solvicore)	Germany/Belgium	membrane electrode assemblies jv	50:50 jv
Uniqema/BP	UK/UK	Icematic series of Castrol refrigeration lubricants	acq
US Equity Company & MBO/Vestolit	US/Germany	Candover Partners sells PVC producer	acq
Valspar Corp/HB Fuller	US/US	powder coatings business	acq
Valspar/Huarun Paints	US/China	stake in coatings company	acq 80% stake	$290m
Viceroy Acquisition/Eastman Chemical	US/US	Eastman Chemical's speciality organic chemicals subsidiary	acq	$75m
Vuya Investment/Henkel	South Africa/Germany	South African business	acq 26% stake
Watson Pharmaceuticals/Unnamed company	America/India	active pharmaceutical ingredient company	acq
Wendel Investissement/Group Materis	Germany/France	specialty chemicals for the construction industry	acq
Westlake Chemical/Eastman Chemical	US/US	polyethylene business	acq	€203m
WR Grace/Basell	US/Germany	components business and custom catalyst assets in Edison, New Jersey	acq
Yara International/China BlueChemical	Norway/China	stake in fertilizer producer	stake
Yara International/Fertibras	Norway/Brazil	stake in fertilizer distribution and marketing company	48.09% stake acq	$126m
Yara International/Olmeca	Norway/Mexico	Sociedad Quimixa y Minera de Chile's fertilizer retail firm	acq

M&A 2006

A YEAR OF ACTIVITY

Global M&A and joint venture activity as reported by ICIS Chemical Business over the past 12 months

ICIS Chemical Business's annual listing sets out all the take-overs, spin-offs, mergers and major joint ventures in the chemical sector, as reported in the magazine in the past year.

The period of coverage extends from mid-November 2005 to the end of November this year, giving a full year of events. This year, all deals reported in the magazine are included, in contrast to previous years when only those with a European involvement were listed.

The companies are listed alphabetically, giving the acquiring firm first and the targeted company second. Generally, the location given is the country in which the company's group headquarters are to be found. Values of deals have been included whenever this was disclosed.

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