Clariant has announced that by 2020 it plans to sell the pigments, standard masterbatches and medical specialties businesses.

Hariolf Kottmann JPG_S

Image: Clariant CEO Hariolf Kottmann. Photo: courtesy of Clariant.

Clariant signed a memorandum of understanding with SABIC on a collaboration opportunity in the area of high performance materials.

The company plans to expand further by focusing on customer-specific products and solution offerings with better growth prospects and above average value potential.

The company expects to deliver significantly higher sales of around CHF9bn by 2021 after the creation of high performance materials and the sale of the remaining plastics & coatings business area.

The planned combination of Clariant’s additives and high value masterbatches (color, high temperature resins and health care) and parts of SABIC’s specialties business will create a provider of highly customer-specific high peradditiormance materials and solutions under the name high performance materials.

Clariant said the new business area will offer a customer-specific, application know-how driven and competitively advantaged product range of high-performance thermoplastics for demanding thermo-electro-optical and mechanical environments, specialty additives and masterbatches in tandem with an outstanding global compounding platform.

Major applications include smart electronics, health care, aerospace, automotive, robotics, additive manufacturing, renewable energy, and e-mobility.

Clariant will have the majority interest in the intended business combination. The company said based on the definitive valuation which is to be identified by both parties in the coming months, an equalization consideration will be made to SABIC.

The functional minerals growth will be driven by entering new regional markets and moving into new applications with innovations like smart and active packaging within feed and agro.

Pigments and standard Masterbatches are expected to incraese in line with GDP while Medical Specialties are estimated to expand rapidly in accordance with their underlying end market in health care packaging.

The remaining plastics & coatings business area, including pigments, standard masterbatches and medical specialties, will continue to be managed using differentiated business steering.

Clariant CEO Hariolf Kottmann said: “The portfolio upgrade together with the continuation of Clariant’s strategy enables the Group to realize a significant step change into higher value specialties, which will allow the Group to considerably augment value creation for all our stakeholders.”