Bayer sells Starck for €1.2bn

Bayer today announced plans to sell its subsidiary H.C. Starck to a consortium formed by financial investors Advent International and The Carlyle Group for approximately €1.2bn. As planned, the proceeds will help to finance Bayer’s acquisition of Schering.

The transaction value comprises cash of more than €700m and the assumption of financial liabilities and personnel-related commitments totalling some €450 million. The divestment reduces Bayer’s net debt by about €1bn, with an accounting gain of about €150m. Closing is planned to take place at the beginning of 2007, subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities.

H.C. Starck, headquartered in Goslar in northern Germany with 15 sites across the globe, manufactures metal and ceramic powders, specialty chemicals, and parts made from advanced ceramics and refractory metals. The company has 3,400 employees and last year posted sales of €920m.

Bayer announced in March 2006 that it would divest its subsidiaries H.C. Starck and Wolff Walsrode and use the proceeds to partly finance the Schering acquisition.