German chemicals companies Degussa and Bayer said today they had agreed to sell their latex joint venture PolymerLatex to US investor Mr George Soros for about €235 million ($256 million).
Degussa and Bayer said in a statement they agreed to sell their 50-50 joint venture to Soros Private Equity Partners, pending regulatory approval.
PolymerLatex, based in Marl, Germany, was set up in 1996 and generated annual sales of €344 million in 2001 with a workforce of 730.
Bayer wants to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt, and Degussa no longer regards the unit as part of its core business.
Soros Private Equity Partners is a global private equity investor, which together with its affiliates, manages more than $4 billion of equity capital, Degussa and Bayer said.
The equity firm intends to develop PolymerLatex's operations in the coming years "and will consider possible add-on acquisitions" to boost the unit's market share, the statement said.