BASF has announced it has completed a merger with Solenis over BASF’s water chemical and wet-end paper business, after receiving approval from the regulatory authorities.

The combined group, which will operate under the name Solenis, will offer products for the chemical processing, oil and gas, paper, pulp, power, mining, municipal markets, and bio-refining industries. It is thought that combined sales of the new business will be around $3 billion (£2.3 billion).

Solenis will own 51 per cent of the new brand, while BASF will retain a 49 per cent stake, providing the company’s performance chemicals production facilities in Bradford and Grimsby in the UK, Suffolk in the US, Altamira in Mexico, Ankleshwar in India, and Kwinana in Australia, in addition to its intellectual property.

BASF performance chemicals division president Anup Kothari said the union was “the right step” for the business, saying: “Together, we will provide the broadest scope of products and services to meet the speciality chemical needs of the global paper and water industry.”

Chief executive officer and president of Solenis John Panichella was quoted as saying the merger will result in “an unparalleled and complementary range of products and services, state-of-the-art innovations and know-how”.

The merger will have 5,200 employees working for it, while BASF – which has an expansive portfolio consisting of chemicals, performance products, functional materials, and agricultural solutions – currently has over 115,000 workers.

Last year, Solenis opened a new chemical manufacturing site in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, China, with the new facility focused on producing product lines for water and process chemistries in the Asia Pacific region.

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