BASF, Petroferm Inc. and Lubrizol close 3-way deal.

BASF, Petroferm Inc. and the Lubrizol Corp. have announced the closing of agreements for Petroferm to acquire BASF's Gurnee, IL manufacturing site and for Lubrizol to acquire BASF's North American-based silicones business. Terms of the separate transactions were not disclosed.

Petroferm is acquiring BASF's ester, alkoxylates and silicones surfactant manufacturing site at Gurnee, IL, one of five U.S. surfactants manufacturing sites that BASF operates. The site will be operated by the Petroferm subsidiary, Lambent Technologies Corp. Lambent will continue to supply BASF with surfactants under the terms of a long-term toll manufacturing agreement.

"BASF remains committed to the surfactants business in North America," said Michael Stumpp, group vice president, performance chemicals, BASF Corp. "The U.S. continues to be an attractive market for us and the esters market in Mexico is an important growth area that BASF is pursuing. In North America, we will continue to provide our customers with surfactant products and related service in innovative ways. One of the components of our strategy is to make greater use of partnerships, joint ventures and operations where it makes economic sense to do so. The transaction involving our Gurnee site is consistent with that approach. At the same time, we have determined that the silicones business is not a strategic fit for BASF in North America and, accordingly, we are exiting the business."

Lubrizol's purchase of BASF's North American-based silicones business includes the customer list, Masil and Mazu trademarks, manufacturing technology and other related intellectual property specifically developed for silicones products in the NAFTA region, and finished goods inventory. The purchase of the silicones business does not include any manufacturing assets.