On September 25, New Zebang (300037.SZ) issued an announcement saying that the company recently reached an agreement with BASF Corporation (BASF USA) to acquire BASF's electrolyte business in Europe and the United States for 1.2 million US dollars, including technology, Selectilyte® Brand and other assets, and will take over all its customers. At present, the business transfer is in an orderly manner, and the delivery is expected to be completed in December 2018. The target of the acquisition does not include BASF's electrolyte manufacturing base in the United States. After the acquisition is completed, the order will be delivered by New Zebang's domestic production base.
The announcement shows that BASF Corporation is a member of the BASF Group and is headquartered in New Jersey, USA. BASF's products fall into five business areas: chemicals, high-performance products, functional materials and solutions, agricultural solutions, and oil and gas businesses. Currently, BASF Corporation has more than 18,000 employees and 2017 sales of $ 17.9 billion. The acquired electrolyte business is part of the Functional Materials and Solutions Division of BASF Corporation.
According to the announcement, BASF ’s acquisition of the European and American electrolyte business of BASF and Noble Battery Materials (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of NeoCube, originally belonged to Ferro Corporation. Arsenal Capital Partners), which was acquired by BASF in 2012. The product portfolio of this business includes lithium primary battery electrolyte, lithium ion battery electrolyte and super capacitor electrolyte. Downstream customers include many internationally renowned manufacturers, new energy startups and universities, and downstream applications include 3C electronics, Medical equipment, energy storage, new energy vehicles, etc.
New Zebang said that after years of hard work, the company has achieved a leading position in the domestic electrolyte market and has achieved certain results in the Japanese and Korean markets. In recent years, the company has continuously accelerated its internationalization. The acquisition will serve as a pre-transition and pilot for the company's European and American business development. After the new Zeubland Poland base is completed and put into operation, the company's European and American business will achieve coordinated development.