Chitinor AS has reached an agreement with BASF SE to acquire BASFs marine biopolymers chitosan business operations.
The deal marks a strategic milestone for Chitinor’s business development plans for expanding its biopolymer product ranges and business-to-business operations.
Under the agreement Chitinor will acquire production facilities in Tromsø, Norway, inventories, patents, Chitopharm™ trademark, product and application technologies, and global customer portfolio for all chitosan product ranges, including functional cosmetic ingredients and Chitopharm™ pharmaceutical ingredients with corresponding Drug Master Files. The transaction is expected to be formally completed by August, 2012.
“With the acquisition of BASFs chitosan business operations, we are significantly strengthening our product and customer portfolio for our marine biopolymer business area. The inclusion of BASFs production facilities in Tromsø is a strategic and synergistic fit to our existing biopolymer operations in Troms, Northern Norway,” says Thorleif Thormodsen, CEO of Seagarden ASA and Chairman of the Board of Seagarden ASAs fully owned daughter company Chitinor AS. “The combination of BASFs proprietary technology for tailored manufacture of high quality chitosans for cosmetic and pharmaceutical uses and Chitinor’s track-record and know-how related to chitin based biopolymers will provide our customers with a strong supply-chain for top quality products unmatched by anyone. Importantly, the acquisition also represents a valuable addition to our customer portfolio in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical markets,” adds Bjarte Langhelle, Commercial Director of Seagarden ASA.
Chitinor AS is a leading producer and supplier of marine biopolymers based on shells from North-Atlantic cold-water shrimp, Pandalus borealis. By direct and full integration with Norway’s largest shrimp processor, the company relies on minute-fresh and fully traceable raw materials for production of high quality marine biopolymers supplied to the international food and pharmaceutical markets. Chitinor AS is a fully owned subsidiary of Seagarden ASA, Haugesund, Norway.
Seagarden ASA (www.seagarden.no) is a Norwegian Public Company with around 80 shareholders. The company is registered in Haugesund, Norway, and is the holding company for Seagarden AS, Chitinor AS, Atlantic Ingredients AS, Arctic Medical Nutrition AS and Avaldsnes Property AS.
BASF (www.basf.com) is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and system solutions contribute to the conservation of resources, the provision of healthy food and nutrition and improving the quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about €73.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees at the end of the year.
