TOKYO, JAPAN, and TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, Oct. 29, 2014 -- Kurita Water Industries Ltd. (Kurita), Japan's leading water treatment company in the industrial field, and ICL (NYSE and TASE: ICL), a global manufacturer of products based on specialty minerals, recently entered into an asset purchase agreement to allow Kurita to acquire ICL's Performance Products' (ICL PP) aluminum, paper chemical and water treatment business (APW) units, which are based in Ludwigshafen and Dusseldorf, Germany, as well as in Europe and China.
The transaction is being considered for approximately 250 million euros ($318.6 million) and is expected to close at the end of 2014. Further, it will be subject to the completion of certain conditions, including the receipt of approvals by authorities and the agreement of a minimum number of APW employees to become employees of Kurita.
The combination of ICL's Water Solutions business with Kurita's water technologies will help Kurita develop a more advanced platform to collectively build a global footprint. The Paper Solutions business will accelerate Kurita's expansion of its product offering into new markets through existing relationships. Further, the Alumina Compounds business' technologies for inorganic coagulant together with Kurita's sensing technologies will enable Kurita to provide optimal solutions for alumina coagulant to new and existing customers.
The APW business units produce active ingredients, formulations and customized water treatment solutions for use by industries and municipalities. This sale is part of ICL's 'Next Step Forward' strategy launched in late 2013. The strategy calls for ICL to divest its non-core businesses to focus on its core businesses in the agriculture, food and engineered materials markets and to optimize its positioning in those markets. The products manufactured by the APW businesses sold to Kurita were not based on ICL's core minerals.
See also: "ICL acquires Henkel's water treatment business"
About Kurita
Kurita is Japan's leading water treatment company in the industrial water field, engaged in the provision of water treatment chemicals, water treatment facilities, and maintenance services. Kurita employs approximately 4,635 people worldwide, and its products and services are provided in more than ten countries, generating total sales of JPY 178 billion in the fiscal year 2013. For more information, visit www.kurita.co.jp.
About ICL
ICL is a global manufacturer of products based on specialty minerals that fulfill humanity's essential needs primarily in three markets: agriculture, food and engineered materials. ICL is a public company whose shares are traded on the NYSE and the TASE (ICL). Forty five percent of ICL's shares are held by Israel Corporation Ltd, 13.9 percent by PotashCorp and the remainder by the public. The company employs approximately 12,000 people worldwide, and its sales in 2013 totaled $6.3 billion. For more information, visit www.icl-group.com.
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