LANXESS completes acquisition of IFF’s microbial control business

“With this acquisition we receive another major boost for our ConsumerProtectionsegment.Itwillsoonbecomeourstrongest segment and is thus an important engine on the way to make

LANXESS even more stable and profitable,” said Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the Board of Management of LANXESS AG. “We are pleasedtohavemorethan250highlyqualifiednewemployeesand are now focusing all our efforts on rapidly integrating the newly acquired business.”

Withtheclosingofthetransaction,LANXESSaddstwoproduction sites to its network in St. Charles, Louisiana, and Institute, West Virginia, both in the United States. The new business will be integrated into the Material Protection Products business unit of LANXESS.

Perfectadditiontothematerialprotection business

“By combining LANXESS’ and the acquired businesses, we are now building a strong and broad product and technology platform for microbial control and biocides, from active ingredients to powerful formulations. This enables us to offer our customers additional application-orientedsolutionsandtostrengthenourvaluechain,”said Michael Schaefer, head of the Material Protection Products business unit. “The microbial control business also gives us access to new technologies and enhances our regulatory position through additional registrations.”

Strongandwell-diversifiednewportfolio

The acquisition brings strategic biocidal active substances, a large registrationpackageandstrongbrands whichareaperfectfitforthe LANXESS microbial control portfolio.

LANXESSisalsostrengtheningitspositionas agloballeaderinthe field of industrial preservation and one of the largest suppliers for isothiazolinone-basedpreservatives.LANXESS’Preventolproducts combined with newly acquired Kathon, Bioban and Rocima brands form one of the broadest portfolios for paints and coatings, construction materials, wood preservation, leather and plastics for both wet- and dry-state preservation.

LANXESSfurtheraddssilver-basedtechnologytotheportfolioand offers now a complete solution for the antimicrobial treatment of textiles. The silver ion-based products known under the Silvadur brand prevent or reduce odors in natural or synthetic fibers.

LANXESSalsobenefitsfromtheadditionofPhenoxyethanoltoits already large personal care and household preservative portfolio. Phenoxyethanolisanadditionalpillarfor thecompany’scustomer preservation strategy in addition to isothiazolinones and sodium benzoate allowing to offer customized solutions to customers and enablethemtoadapttheirpreservationtothegrowingregulatory challenges.