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EANS-Adhoc: Süd-Chemie and Ashland agree on expanded joint venture serving foundry chemical sector

  ad-hoc disclosure pursuant to section 15 of the WpHG transmitted by euro
  adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is solely
  responsible for the content of this announcement.
15.07.2010
Süd-Chemie and Ashland to merge worldwide foundry chemical activities
under the name ASK Chemicals.
Süd-Chemie AG, Munich (Germany), and Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH), with 
headquarters in Covington, Kentucky (USA), have reached contractual 
agreement on the formation of a global joint venture to merge their 
business activities in the foundry chemicals sector. The joint 
venture will be known as ASK Chemicals GmbH and will be headquartered
in Hilden, Germany. Süd-Chemie and Ashland will each hold a 
fifty-percent share in ASK Chemicals, while the operational 
management leadership will lie with Süd-Chemie.
This joint venture will employ approximately 1,300 people. Were it to
have been in operation through the first six months of calendar year 
2010, it would have generated total sales of about EUR240 million, or
around $300 million - numbers reflecting that while the global 
foundry market saw moderate activity in Q1, it gained considerable 
momentum in Q2.
Süd-Chemie and Ashland are currently partners in 
Ashland-Südchemie-Kernfest GmbH, a foundry chemicals company 
operating successfully in Europe since its formation in 1970. The 
global joint venture will be comprised of three parts: 
Ashland-Südchemie-Kernfest, substantially all assets and employees of
Süd-Chemie´s business unit for Foundry Products and Specialty Resins 
and Ashland´s Casting Solutions business unit. The transaction is 
expected to close towards the end of calendar year 2010, subject to 
customary closing conditions including regulatory reviews.
The expanded joint venture will combine Süd-Chemie´s and Ashland´s 
sales and marketing, product development units and production assets 
with those of the Ashland-Südchemie-Kernfest joint venture. The new 
joint venture will have considerable growth potential as a result of 
uniting the foundry know-how of the partners and expanding the use of
existing distribution channels and market synergies in Europe, the 
Americas and Asia. The joint venture will systematically pursue 
elements of the partner´s existing strategies aimed at expanding and 
strengthening market positions based on high-quality, full-service 
solutions to meet the rising global demands of modern-day foundries.
When established, the joint venture will be able to offer its 
customers holistic solutions and customized innovative consultancy 
services. It will demonstrate a high degree of customer orientation 
and specific knowledge of customers´ production processes, coupled 
with proven expertise in research and development and application 
engineering for foundry chemistry. The product range will include 
resins, binding agents, finishing tools, additives, feeder heads, 
filters, separating agents, metallurgical additives and cores. In 
addition, the joint venture will continue the partners´ demonstrated 
success as an innovator of environmentally-friendly, i.e. 
emission-free and emission-reducing, moulding processes.
Operations merging into the ASK Chemicals GmbH joint venture are the 
Casting Solutions business unit of Ashland Inc., including assets in 
the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Japan, the UK, 
Spain, Portugal, Italy, India and Korea; Süd Chemie's Foundry 
Products and Specialty Resins business unit including the Süd-Chemie 
subsidiaries SKW Giesserei GmbH, WD-Giesserei-Technik GmbH, Tecpro 
Corporation Inc., Süd-Chemie Hi-Tech Ceramics Inc., Ajay Metachem 
Süd-Chemie Pvt. Ltd., parts of Jiangsu Süd-Chemie Chemical Materials 
Co., Ltd. and the companies belonging to the existing joint venture, 
Ashland-Südchemie-Kernfest GmbH, and its subsidiaries (AS Group).
end of ad-hoc-announcement ==========================================
====================================== About Süd-Chemie Süd-Chemie 
(www.sud-chemie.com) is a publicly quoted (Security Identification 
Number ISIN: DE 0007292005; WKN: 729200) specialty chemicals company 
headquartered in Munich, Germany and operating on a worldwide scale. 
Key markets served by its Adsorbents Division include the consumer 
goods, packaging and foundry industries, as well as water treatment. 
Products manufactured by the Catalysts Division offer solutions for 
the chemical, petrochemical and refinery industries, for energy 
storage and hydrogen production, as well as off-gas purification. The
common denominator of all Süd-Chemie products and services is the 
efficient and sparing use of natural resources to enhance the quality
of life for humans and the environment. The Süd-Chemie Group 
generated sales of approx. EUR 1.1 billion in 2009, about 85% of 
these outside Germany. At the end of December 2009, the group 
employed some 6,500 people in more than 80 sales and production 
companies worldwide.
end of announcement                               euro adhoc

Further inquiry note:

Patrick Salchow
Tel.: +49 (0)89 5110 250
E-Mail: patrick.salchow@sud-chemie.com

Branche: Chemicals
ISIN: DE0007292005
WKN: 729200
Börsen: Hamburg / free trade
Frankfurt / free trade
Berlin / regulated dealing
München / regulated dealing

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