Arkema Will Move Home Office, Divest Agchems

Arkema is working with its employee works council on the relocation of its headquarters, currently based in Paris' La Défense corporate zone, to lower-cost quarters in the Paris suburbs. Parts of some divisions, in particular chlorochemicals and thiochemicals, will be moved to their production sites; the information technology division will be centralized at Arkema's technical center in Lyon, France. The project will result in the loss of 130 jobs and the relocation of 102 jobs from Paris to industrial sites around France. Separately, Arkema is selling Cerexagri, its agrochemicals business, to India's United Phosphorus Ltd. (UPL) for about $140 million. The business unit has annual sales of about $260 million in fungicides and fruit and vegetable treatments. UPL, which acquired some Bayer agchem assets earlier this year, says the Cerexagri purchase will make it the world's 11th largest agrochemical company.