BASF Makes Offer to Acquire Ciba      

On September 15th, BASF announced it will make a public takeover offer to Ciba's shareholders for acquiring Ciba Holding AG, a Switzerland-based leading specialty chemical company. BASF will pay CHF 50.00 in cash for each nominal share in Ciba. Based on all outstanding Ciba shares and including all net financial liabilities and pension obligations, the enterprise value would be CHF 6.1 billion (approximately Euro 3.8 billion).
    With the acquisition of Ciba, BASF will strengthen its portfolio and expanding the leading position in specialty chemicals with products and services for a variety of customer industries, in particular the plastics and coatings industries as well as water treatment.
    In addition, the planned acquisition would strengthen BASF's presence in fast-growing emerging countries and improve its market position in important industries such as automotive, packaging, construction, electronics and water purification.
　　BASF expects to finalize the transaction in the first quarter of 2009 at the latest.