By Frank Esposito
SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
Published: December 5, 2013 4:44 pm ET
Updated: December 5, 2013 4:45 pm ET
BASF SE is selling its Vinuran-brand PVC modifier business to Japanese materials maker Kaneka Corp. for an undisclosed price.
The sale includes intangible assets and inventory, but not production assets or employees, BASF officials said in a Dec. 5 news release. BASF makes Vinuran at its headquarters site in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Vinuran is an acrylate-based PVC modifier which is used with PVC in weatherproof panels, films and profile sections in the construction market. Officials said Vinuran “is not a core business” for the firm but that it “represents a good strategic fit” for Osaka-based Kaneka.
The sale “allows BASF to focus on growth of its acrylate-based dispersions portfolio,” they added.
The deal wraps up a busy year for BASF in which the firm reorganized its plastics business into four separate units and opened a new resin blending plant in Bahrain. The firm also spotlighted several major innovations at the K show in Düsseldorf, Germany, including Infinergy, a thermoplastic polyurethane foam that’s being used in Energy Boost running shoes made by Adidas.
By the end of the year, BASF will have begun production on two new plastic products. AIM Filtertec is using BASF technology to make Steron-brand polyurethane/silicon fabric at a new plant in Pune, India. While in Lemforde, Germany, BASF will begin production of a PU foam insulation panel for the construction market.
Through September, BASF’s total sales were up three percent vs. the year-ago period to 55.8 billion euros ($72.6 billion), but the firm’s nine-month profit fell almost 4 percent to 3.7 billion euros ($4.8 billion).
BASF ranks as one of the world’s largest makers of chemicals, specialty plastics and plastic additives. The firm employs more than 110,000 worldwide and posted sales of almost $94 billion in 2012. | 
