LANXESS acquires 2 companies in Asia

Specialty chemicals company LANXESS AG announced that it will acquire two key Asian operations by the end of the third quarter. The company’s subsidiary LANXESS India Private Ltd. will acquire the chemical businesses and assets of Indian company Gwalior Chemical Industries Ltd. for €82.4 million (US$114.35 million), including debt. The acquisition of Gwalior, according to LANXESS Board of Management Chair Axel Heitmann, is the chemical maker’s first in India. LANXESS will also acquire the business and production assets of China-based Jiangsu Polyols Chemical Co. Ltd. Both LANXESS and Jiangsu agreed not to reveal the purchase price. Jiangsu Polyols mainly produces trimethylolpropane, a key component of lubricants, paints and coatings. The acquisitions are intended to strengthen LANXESS’s Basic Chemicals business unit, Heitmann said. (June 8, 2009)