COVINGTON, Ky. and MUNICH, Germany, June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) and Sud-Chemie AG today signed a nonbinding
memorandum of understanding to form a new, global joint venture to serve
foundries and the metal casting industry. When final agreements are
reached, each parent company will hold a 50-percent share of the joint
venture, which is planned to be headquartered in Venlo, The Netherlands.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040113/ASHLANDLOGO )
Assets and employees would transfer to the new joint venture upon
closing, anticipated by early calendar year 2009. The transaction is
dependent upon the successful negotiation of definitive agreements, and
closing will depend upon satisfactory completion of due diligence and a
number of standard closing conditions, including regulatory review.
The new enterprise would combine three businesses: Ashland's Casting
Solutions business group, the foundry-related businesses of Sud-Chemie, and
Ashland-Sudchemie-Kernfest GmbH (ASK). Had it existed in 2007, this new
company would have generated sales revenues of approximately U.S. $1.1
billion or euro 700 million, with approximately 1,300 employees.
Having begun in 1970 with the formation of the existing ASK joint
venture in Hilden, Germany, a highly-successful joint venture operating in
Europe, the existing relationship between Sud-Chemie and Ashland would now
be significantly expanded. The new organization would unite the
foundry-related sales, marketing, technology and certain manufacturing
operations of both parent companies with those of ASK.
Sud-Chemie and Ashland pursue a similar strategy aimed at providing
solutions for the rising technological requirements of modern and worldwide
expanding foundries and seeking international expansion, especially in
developing countries. In combination, the complementary business positions
should enjoy well-established channels to serve the European marketplace,
the Americas and Asia, and should help to achieve high growth potential.
"When you consider the rapid industrialization occurring within key
markets like China, Eastern Europe, Brazil and India, it is easy to
recognize the strong growth opportunities that exist for the metal casting
industry," said James J. O'Brien, Ashland's chairman and chief executive
officer. "Combining these businesses should ultimately result in increased
shareholder value and better opportunities for our customers and
employees."
Dr. Gunter von Au, managing board chairman of Sud-Chemie AG, said:
"Global competition is forcing us to create location networks in all
important markets. By forming this new, globally active company, we shall
be in a better position to satisfy our customers' wishes as these become
increasingly more sophisticated and more closely aligned on an
international scale. We are looking forward to an even closer cooperation
between Ashland and Sud-Chemie in the future."
Dr. Hans Jurgen Wernicke, deputy chairman of the Sud-Chemie managing
board, confirmed that, "Our ASK European joint venture forms a solid basis
for the envisaged global cooperation of our companies in the foundry
sector. We are confident that the amalgamation of our worldwide foundry
activities will lead to a high level of service by combining our know-how,
offering a broader product portfolio and enhanced system solutions."
Ashland Casting Solutions, a business group of Ashland Performance
Materials, is a leader in supplying products, processes, services and
technologies to the global metal casting marketplace.
Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), a diversified, global chemical company,
provides quality products, services and solutions to customers in more than
100 countries. A FORTUNE 500 company, it operates through four divisions:
Ashland Performance Materials, Ashland Distribution, Valvoline and Ashland
Water Technologies. To learn more about Ashland, visit http://www.ashland.com.
Sud-Chemie AG (http://www.sud-chemie.com) is a publicly quoted (Security
Identification Number ISIN: DE0007292005; WKN: 729200) specialty chemicals
company headquartered in Munich, Germany, and operating on a worldwide
scale. Key markets served by its Adsorbents Division include the
consumer-goods, packaging and foundry industries, as well as the paper and
plastics industries and water treatment. Products manufactured by the
Catalysts Division offer solutions for the chemicals, petrochemicals and
refinery industries, for energy storage and hydrogen production as well as
off-gas purification. The common denominator of all its products and
innovations is the efficient and sparing use of natural resources to
enhance the quality of life for humans and the environment. Sud-Chemie
generated sales of about euro 1.1 billion in 2007, approximately 80 percent
of these outside Germany. At the end of 2007, the group employed more than
5,000 people at its 75 sales and production sites worldwide.
FORTUNE 500 is a registered trademark of Time Inc.
SOURCE Ashland Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ashland.com
http://www.sud-chemie.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040113/ASHLANDLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/065263.html /
CONTACT:
Ken Gordon, Ashland Inc., +1-614-790-1832, or
Patrick Salchow, Sud-Chemie AG, +49 (0) 89 5110-250, x247
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