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Business

Avecia Is Selling Its Covion Unit to Merck KGaA

by Alexander H. Tullo
February 14, 2005 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 83, Issue 7
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Continuing to whittle itself away, Avecia is selling its organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and polymer electronics units to Merck KGaA for about $65 million in cash.

The deal includes Frankfurt-based Covion Organic Semiconductors as well as Avecia's polymer electronics R&D activities in Manchester, England. In total, Merck will gain 100 Avecia employees. Covion generated $10 million in revenues last year selling materials to the nascent OLED market.

Merck will merge the unit with its liquid-crystal division, which is one of the industry leaders in supplying materials to the liquid-crystal display market and a business that Merck is keeping despite the planned sale of its electronic chemicals business to BASF (C&EN, Feb 7, page 8). "It is apparent that liquid-crystal displays will be the dominant flat-panel technology for some years to come," says Merck Chairman Bernhard Scheuble.

Merck has been investigating OLEDs and recently purchased a related R&D project from Mainz, Germany-based Schott AG.

The deal is one of many for Avecia. Earlier this month, it sold its NeoResins business to DSM for about $680 million. Last year, it sold its biocides business to Arch Chemicals and its additives business to Lubrizol.

Although Avecia still has fine chemicals, biotechnology, and ink-jet materials businesses, a spokesman concedes that its private equity owners, Cinven and Investcorp, are slowly liquidating the company as opportunities arise. "There will be a sale of the remaining businesses at some point in the future," he says.

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