RWE-DEA to Acquire Surfactants and Solvents Business from Huls

RWE-DEA Aktiengesellschaft für Mineraloel und Chemie, Hamburg, will buy the surfactants, solvents and oleochemicals business of Huls AG, Marl. The deal will include the takeover of manufacturing facilities at the Huls production sites in Marl (surfactants and surfactant base stocks), Herne(solvents), and Witten(oleochemicals). RWE-DEA will buy all shares of the Huls subsidiary Servo B.V., Delden, Netherlands, which is active in surfactants business and in the marketing of specialty products. The agreement is subject to clearance by the EU antitrust authorities.

According to a spokesman for RWE-DEA, the company will carry out its international chemical activities under the name CONDEA. About 1200 people now working for the Huls organization will be transferred to the new organization. The company expects the annual sales of RWEDEA Chemicals to increase by about DM 1 billion to DM 4.5 billion as a result of the acquisition.

Combining its activities with those of Huls, CONDEA will strengthen its position in the field of detergent raw materials, where it has continually expanded and globalized over the past years.

Edited by Beth Brindle