LANXESS and Saudi Aramco complete joint venture deal

Earlier today (April 1, 2016), specialty chemicals company LANXESS and Saudi Aramco have completed the formation of their 50-50 joint venture for synthetic rubber, ARLANXEO. The deal was first announced in September 2015, and all relevant antitrust authorities had cleared the transaction by February 2016.


With the closing of the transaction, a 50 percent share in the joint venture ARLANXEO was transferred to Dutch Saudi Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Overseas Holdings Coöperatief U.A. In return, LANXESS received cash proceeds of around EUR 1.2 billion.


LANXESS plans to invest around EUR 400 million of the proceeds from the transaction in organic growth. Another roughly EUR 400 million is earmarked for a further reduction of its financial debt position and around EUR 200 million are planned to be used for a share buyback program.


With the launch of ARLANXEO, the composition of the company’s Shareholders‘ Committee was also announced. It is chaired by LANXESS’ Chairman of the Board of Management Matthias Zachert. Warren W. Wilder, Vice President Chemicals at Saudi Aramco, is Vice Chairman. The additional members of ARLANXEO’s Shareholders’ Committee are Michael Pontzen, LANXESS’ Chief Financial Officer, and Khalid H. Al-Dabbagh, Controller at Saudi Aramco.


LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.9 billion in 2015 and about 16,200 employees in 29 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, specialty chemicals and plastics. Through ARLANXEO, the joint venture with Saudi Aramco, LANXESS is also a leading supplier of synthetic rubber. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World) and FTSE4Good.


Cologne,     April 1, 2016
dae        (2016-00031e)


Forward-Looking Statements.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.


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