BASF Fertilizer Business Going To Russia’s EuroChem

BASF has agreed to sell most of its fertilizer business to Moscow-based EuroChem for about $950 million. The sale includes operations in Antwerp, Belgium, where BASF makes calcium ammonium nitrate/ammonium nitrate (CAN/AN) fertilizers, nitrophosphoric acid, and nitric acid. Also in Antwerp, BASF produces its Nitrophoska crop nutrient line, which is distributed by K+S Nitrogen. In addition, the deal includes BASF’s 50% stake in PEC-Rhin, a French joint venture with the oil giant Total that makes CAN/AN fertilizers. The operations have a total annual capacity of 2.5 million metric tons. BASF says it is keeping fertilizer operations at its Ludwigs­hafen, Germany, complex because they are important to site integration. EuroChem says its 3.4 million metric tons of preacquisition nutrient capacity make it the 10th-largest fertilizer maker in the world. The company adds that the BASF purchase is an important foray outside Russia.