BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) has agreed to sell its polyolefin catalysts business to US chemical producer W. R. Grace (Columbia, Maryland; www.grace.com) for an undisclosed sum. The sale includes production plants in Pasadena, Texas / USA and Tarragona / Spain as well as technologies, patents and trademarks, and around 170 employees worldwide.

It includes BASF’s "Lynx" high-activity PE catalyst technologies which are used in slurry processes to produce high-density PE resins such as bimodal film and pipe. Lynx catalyst technologies are also used in all major PP processes including slurry, bulk loop, stirred and fluid gas, and stirred bulk.

Commenting on the sale, Kenneth Lane, president of BASF's global Catalysts division, said: “With this divestiture, we will continue to sharpen our focus on key growth areas, including our chemical catalysts and refinery catalysts businesses.” The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016 pending regulatory approvals, employee consultations and other usual conditions.