German chemicals firm BASF has struck a deal to divest its Precision Microchemicals business to advanced materials science company Entegris for $90 million, the parties revealed in a joint release Wednesday.
The business, part of BASF’s Surface Treatment business unit, operates under the Chemtall brand name and focuses on the development, production, and marketing of high purity materials. Its portfolio includes cleaning chemistries and Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) slurries used in electronic materials applications. Chemtall’s products are used to clean and polish hard disk drives (HDD) and wide band gap semiconductor (WBGS) ultra-hard surface materials like silicon carbide (SiC).
“Under the ownership of Entegris – a leading global player in specialty chemicals and advanced material solutions for the microelectronics industry – the Precision Microchemicals business will be well positioned to realize its full potential,” Christophe Cazabeau, senior vice president, Surface Treatment for BASF, said in a statement.
When the transaction is completed, Entegris plans to integrate the business in its Specialty Chemicals and Engineered Materials (SCEM) division. Intellectual property, technologies, and trademarks are part of the sale.
“The acquisition of BASF’s Precision Microchemicals business adds technical expertise, intellectual property, and talent to our broad specialty chemicals portfolio,” said Bertrand Loy, the president and CEO of Entegris, in the release. “In particular, it will build on our leadership in the CMP slurry market for ultra-hard surface materials, serving some of the fastest growing end-markets globally, including electric vehicles and 5G communications.”
Entegris and BASF anticipate that the sale will close before the end of this year.
