November 17,
2005
Asahi Kasei Fibers Corporation
Asahi Kasei Corporation
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Acquisition of Dorlastan® spandex business
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Asahi Kasei Fibers Corp. (AKF) and Lanxess Deutschland GmbH (Lanxess) have reached
basic agreement for the purchase by AKF of the Dorlastan® spandex business
of Lanxess, and today concluded a memorandum of understanding to this effect.
A final agreement will be executed shortly, with the transaction to proceed pending
approval of the relevant antitrust authorities. All Dorlastan® operations
and assets, including production facilities in Dormagen, Germany, and Bushy Park,
South Carolina, USA, are subject to transfer.
Background and objectives
Spandex under the Roica™ brand is a core
business of AKF with competitiveness secured through integrated production from
raw material to finished yarn, and technological advances to enable a wide range
of performance features such as chlorine resistance and moisture transpiration.
The Roica™ supply infrastructure,
guided by geographic market developments, comprises four production sites in
Asia. In order to enhance the global presence of Roica™,
AKF has studied a number of prospects for the establishment of production bases
in Europe and North America. The acquisition of the Dorlastan® production
facilities in Europe and the US will complement the Asian production sites to
effect a complete globalization of Roica™ operations.
Lanxess, based in Germany, is one of the leading chemical companies with operations
in basic and fine chemicals. Dorlastan®,
marketed since 1964, is one of the world’s leading spandex brands. Today’s
announcement is in accordance with an ongoing portfolio realignment whereby Lanxess
is focusing on core operations while seeking to transfer non-core businesses
to parties which would be better placed to sustain their development and growth.
In recognition of their complementary interests in this regard, the two parties
began discussing the potential for such a transaction late last year.
Prospective and outlook
AKF will draw on the solid established customer relationships, marketing and
distribution networks, world-class production facilities, and highly skilled
workforce of the Dorlastan® business to swiftly and smoothly augment Roica™ operations
in Europe and the US, while enhancing the Dormagen and Bushy Park facilities
with advanced AKF technology and strategic capital investments.
The heightened presence for Roica™ in Europe and North America will enable
acceleration of its adoption in novel applications which are emerging in these
markets. The inclusion of Dorlastan® operations will also enable AKF to provide
close and responsive customer support in all the major world markets, as Roica™ operations
develop with global efficiency and advancing product quality and performance.
AKF is targeting sales of ¥40 billion by 2008 for the combined spandex operations.
Corporate profiles
| Lanxess Deutschland GmbH |
| Head office: |
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Gebäude
K10, 51369 Leverkusen, Germany |
| CEO: |
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A. C. Heitmann |
| Sales: |
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Approximately €6.8
billion (year ended Dec. 31, 2004) |
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One of Europe’s
leading chemical companies, Lanxess was spun off from
Bayer AG, succeeding most of its chemical business
and part of its polymer business. Lanxess has an extensive
product portfolio ranging from solid rubbers and plastics
to high quality basic and fine chemicals. Lanxess
customers include well-known manufacturers, particularly
in the polymer processing and chemicals industries,
the fields of electronics and electrical engineering,
the automobile and tire industry, the construction
industry, the field of life sciences, and the leather,
textile, and paper industries. The close cooperation
it enjoys with its customers and the comprehensive
know-how its employees possess in the area of application
technology enable Lanxess to offer its customers tailor-made
products to meet their particular needs. The Lanxess
Group employs approximately 19,000 employees worldwide,
of which approximately 10,000 are based in Germany. |
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| Asahi Kasei Fibers Corp. |
| Head office: |
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1-2-6 Dojimahama, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan |
| President: |
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M. Sakamoto |
| Paid-in capital: |
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¥3 billion |
| Sales: |
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¥104.3 billion* (year
ended March 31, 2005) |
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Asahi Kasei Fibers is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Kasei Corporation and
the core operating company for the fibers operations
of the Asahi Kasei Group. Its three core businesses
are spandex, cuprammonium rayon, and nonwovens.
* Consolidated net sales of Fibers operating segment of Asahi Kasei Corporation.
Dorlastan® is a registered trademark of Lanxess Deutschland GmbH.
Roica™ is
a trademark of Asahi Kasei Fibers Corp. |
Reference material
Roica™ production sites:
Company |
Holding |
Location |
Annual capacity |
Asahi Kasei Fibers Corp. |
– |
Moriyama,
Japan |
9,000 tons |
Formosa Asahi Spandex Co.,
Ltd |
50% |
Taipei, Taiwan |
5,000 tons |
Hangzhou Asahi Kasei Spandex
Co., Ltd. |
100% |
Hangzhou,
China |
3,000 tons |
Thai Asahi Kasei Spandex
Co., Ltd. |
60% |
Chonburi,
Thailand |
2,500 tons |
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Total: 19,500
tons |
Dorlastan® production sites:
Location |
Annual capacity |
Dormagen, Germany |
8,000 tons |
Bushy Park, South Carolina,
USA |
9,000 tons |
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Total: 17,000
tons |
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