Hoofddorp, The Netherlands, July 29, 2004 – Following today’s announcement by BASF and Shell that they are reviewing their strategic alternatives regarding their shareholdings in Basell, Volker Trautz, Basell’s president and CEO, described Basell as "a sound company with a strong future."
The options being reviewed by BASF and Shell include the sale of the stake each holds in Basell and an equity market transaction. "We will not allow this to distract us," Trautz said. "Meeting customers’ needs will be the foremost business priority for Basell as the transaction process is carried forward. We will continue to pursue our business plans and strategies in our three core businesses – Polyolefins, Advanced Polyolefins and Technology."
According to Trautz, there are many reasons why a pure polyolefins company like Basell would be attractive to a potential buyer. "Basell is a robust polyolefins company, its global presence is unmatched and we are clearly the technology leader in our industry," he said. "We have been very successful in developing innovative channels to market, including being a leader in e-commerce." Alastian, a new no-frills online business that offers a limited product range and exclusively focuses on the needs of customers who are not interested in buying the full range of Basell's services, was launched in April.
The company will continue to move forward with ongoing improvement activities, including implementing a new business model for polypropylene and polyethylene sales in Europe that clearly distinguishes between the different requirements and expectations of commodity and speciality customers.
A cornerstone of Basell’s strategy is investing in technology. "Basell invests significantly in R&D and our innovation pipeline is unsurpassed," said Trautz. "Having a dedicated catalyst and licensing business in Basell is a platform from which innovative materials, processes and catalysts are developed." Basell’s newest polyolefin process, the Spherizone technology for polypropylene which was first commercialised at Basell’s Brindisi, Italy, is now also available for licensing and will be utilised in a new plant to be built by Indelpro SA de CV, a Basell joint venture in Mexico.
Basell also continues to pursue growth through its Advanced Polyolefins Business, which develops new markets by expanding the properties and applications envelope of polyolefins, and through well-focused investments that support key customers as they globalise their operations. A new Basell compounding plant under construction in China will serve the fast-growing automotive, appliances and industrial sector in that country; start-up is planned for early 2005. Earlier this year, Basell’s newest joint venture, Saudi Polyolefins Company, began operations with a new polypropylene plant and a propane dehydrogenation unit.
"A great deal of positive progress has taken place in Basell since its formation in 2000 even though the market has proven to be more volatile and less robust than expected," said Trautz. "Other improvements are on the way.
"Our results through the first half of 2004 are the best in the company’s history," he added "We are already operating as an independent company and a new shareholder situation could bring additional project and business opportunities."
Basell is the world's largest producer of polypropylene and advanced polyolefin products, a leading supplier of polyethylene and catalysts, and a global leader in the development and licensing of polypropylene and polyethylene processes. Basell, together with its joint ventures, has manufacturing facilities around the world and sells products in more than 120 countries. Additional information about Basell is available at www.basell.com.
For additional information about this, contact Randy Woelfel, Management Team member responsible for Corporate Communications, at + 32 2 715 8171 or randy.woelfel@basell.com
