Ineos buys former BASF concrete chemicals business

INEOS is buying MBCC’s admixture business from Sika, acquiring manufacturing sites in the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The sale clears the way for Swiss chemicals firm Sika to buy the MBCC Group, the former BASF Construction Chemicals business, for €5.2bn (US$5.6bn) from an affiliate of equity firm Lone Star Funds. Regulators, including in Australia, the UK, and New Zealand, have asked for the admixture business to be sold to avoid competition concerns arising from the MBCC sale to Sika.

The admixture business makes concrete additives that are used in the construction industry and has annual sales of around US$1bn. It employs more than 1,600 people and operates 35 manufacturing sites.

Ashley Reed, CEO of Ineos Enterprises, said: “These well invested and well positioned sites, present new opportunities for Ineos to grow in the construction market.”

Ineos’ exiting construction chemicals products include thermoset composite resins for use in tanks, piping, and cooling towers, and fibre reinforced structural panels and engineered stone used for domestic countertops.

Ineos says its deal, alongside Sika’s purchase of the wider MBCC Group, is expected to close in the first half of this year. The purchase price for the admixture business has not been disclosed.