BASF plans to sell its pigments business

BASF expects to sell its global pigment business by the end of 2020. The business generated sales of more than $1.1 billion in 2018, employs 2,600 people, and has more than 5,000 customers worldwide. Also up for sale, since last October, is BASF’s construction chemical business, which has annual sales of about $2.7 billion. BASF chairman Martin Brudermüller revealed the pigment sale last week as he announced a 2% rise in 2018 company sales to $71.3 billion and an earnings decline of 17% to $7.2 billion. Earnings dropped largely because of a decline in profit margins for isocyanates and ethylene, he said.