Cognis strengthens coatings and synlubes business by strategic acquisition from Degussa

Duesseldorf (PROTEXT/ots) - Cognis, a leading internationalspecialty chemicals company, has signed a contract to acquireLaporte Performance Chemicals, a subsidiary of the formerLaporte plc, which belongs to Degussa AG. This includes twoproduction and development sites in the UK as well as severaldistribution companies. A total workforce of 220 are employed atthe company, which generated sales totaling GBP 64 million(approx. EUR 95 million) in 2001. By selling the facilities,Degussa follows the European Commission's competitionrequirements. The contract was signed subject to the approval ofthe anti-trust authorities.

In the UK, Laporte Performance Chemicals manufacturescomponents for environmentally friendly paint systems, i.e.high-performance automotive paints (hydroxy monomers), as wellas synthetic lubricants (polyalkylene glycols). In addition, thecompany manufactures multifunctional monomers based on acrylatesfor coatings as well as rubber chemicals and plastic additivesbased on esters. Laporte maintains a strong position with itsproducts. This acquisition, which includes not only production,but also all company divisions including Sales and Development,clearly strengthens Cognis' commitment in the UK market.

Cognis has based its corporate strategy and its productportfolio on the two trends of "wellness" and "sustainability".With its Care Chemicals and Nutrition & Health business units,Cognis is extremely well prepared for the future market for"wellness" products. In the Functional Products business unit aswell as in the Process Chemicals business, Cognis is embracingthe global trend towards sustainable products and concepts. TheFunctional Products business unit includes components forpolymers, coatings and inks; lubricant specialties; adjuvantsfor agrochemicals and fermentation specialties as well as miningchemicals. The acquisition will enable Cognis to expand andsupplement this product range and to offer its customers evenmore complete solutions.

About Cognis: Cognis is a worldwide supplier of innovative specialtychemicals and nutritional ingredients with almost 9,100employees in close to 50 countries. The company has dedicatedits activities to a high level of sustainability and deliversnatural source raw materials and ingredients for food, nutritionand healthcare markets, and the cosmetics, detergents andcleaners industries. Additionally, Cognis provides solutions fora number of other industries, such as coatings and inks,lubricants, textiles and plastics, as well as agrosolutions andmining chemicals.

Cognis is owned by private equity funds advised by Permira,GS Capital Partners, and Schroder Ventures Life Sciences. In2001, Cognis recorded sales of EUR 3.1 billion and an operatingprofit of EUR 174 million. A turnover of EUR 2.4 billion wasachieved in the first nine months of 2002. ots Original Text Service: Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KGInternet: http://www.presseportal.de Contact: Susanne Marell, Vice President Cognis Corporate Communications,Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49-211-7940-5395 e-mail:susanne.marell@cognis.com Internet: www.cognis.com Susanne Sengel, Corporate Communications Manager, CognisDeutschland GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49-211-7940-5431 e-mail:susanne.sengel@cognis.com Internet: www.cognis.com Guido Willems, Group Vice President Functional Products, CognisDeutschland GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49-211-7940-6133 e-mail:guido.willems@cognis.com Internet: www.cognis.com

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