Japan's Kurita buys ICL's aluminium, paper chemicals and water treatment biz
ICL's Performance Products segment to divest its Germany-based APW business as part of ICL's strategy to focus on its core businesses in agriculture, food and engineered materials
Japanese water treatment specialist Kurita Water Industries Ltd has entered into an asset purchase agreement for acquiring ICL's Performance Products segment's (ICL PP) aluminium, paper chemicals and water treatment (APW) business units based in Ludwigshafen and Dusseldorf, Germany, as well as additional ICL PP venues in Europe and China.
The APW business units produce active ingredients, formulations and customised water treatment solutions for use by industries and municipalities. The agreement includes Kurita’s purchase of ICL PP’s chemical additives business for the paper industry and related aluminium compounds produced by ICL PP at its facilities located in Ludwigshafen and Dusseldorf, Germany.
The purchase of the APW business is in line with Kurita's growth strategy. The combination of ICL’s Water Solutions business with Kurita's water technologies will help Kurita develop a more advanced platform to collectively build a global footprint. The Paper Solutions business will accelerate Kurita's expansion of its product offering into new markets through existing relationships. The Alumina Compounds business’ technologies for inorganic coagulant, together with Kurita’s sensing technologies, will enable Kurita to provide optimal solutions for alumina coagulant to new and existing customers.
Toshiyuki Nakai, President, Kurita, said, “Through this transaction, Kurita acquires APW's diverse product portfolio and broad customer base in Europe, as well as other regions. Combining Kurita's existing customer base, which is mainly in Japan and the Asia region, with APW’s customer base, will further strengthen Kurita's overseas business platform.”
The sale of the APW business units is part of ICL’s ‘Next Step Forward’ strategy launched in late 2013. The strategy calls for ICL to divest its non-core businesses to focus on its core businesses in the agriculture, food and engineered materials markets and to optimise its positioning in those markets. The products manufactured by the APW businesses sold to Kurita were not based on ICL's core minerals.
Commenting on the sale of the APW business units, Stefan Borgas, President & CEO, ICL, stated, “ICL is executing its strategy by focusing on its core business, and it will use the proceeds from the sale of APW, as well as from the divestment of additional non-core assets, to strengthen ICL’s core businesses in the agriculture, food and engineered materials markets, pursue operational excellence, build out ICL’s distinctive mineral assets and technologies, and expand our global presence, especially in emerging markets.”
