EANS-Adhoc: Süd-Chemie and Ashland agree on expanded joint venture serving foundry chemical sector

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ad-hoc disclosure pursuant to section 15 of the WpHG transmitted by euro
adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is solely
responsible for the content of this announcement.
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15.07.2010

Süd-Chemie and Ashland to merge worldwide foundry chemical activities
under the name ASK Chemicals.

Süd-Chemie AG, Munich (Germany), and Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH), with
headquarters in Covington, Kentucky (USA), have reached contractual
agreement on the formation of a global joint venture to merge their
business activities in the foundry chemicals sector. The joint
venture will be known as ASK Chemicals GmbH and will be headquartered
in Hilden, Germany. Süd-Chemie and Ashland will each hold a
fifty-percent share in ASK Chemicals, while the operational
management leadership will lie with Süd-Chemie.

This joint venture will employ approximately 1,300 people. Were it to
have been in operation through the first six months of calendar year
2010, it would have generated total sales of about EUR240 million, or
around $300 million - numbers reflecting that while the global
foundry market saw moderate activity in Q1, it gained considerable
momentum in Q2.

Süd-Chemie and Ashland are currently partners in
Ashland-Südchemie-Kernfest GmbH, a foundry chemicals company
operating successfully in Europe since its formation in 1970. The
global joint venture will be comprised of three parts:
Ashland-Südchemie-Kernfest, substantially all assets and employees of
Süd-Chemie´s business unit for Foundry Products and Specialty Resins
and Ashland´s Casting Solutions business unit. The transaction is
expected to close towards the end of calendar year 2010, subject to
customary closing conditions including regulatory reviews.

The expanded joint venture will combine Süd-Chemie´s and Ashland´s
sales and marketing, product development units and production assets
with those of the Ashland-Südchemie-Kernfest joint venture. The new
joint venture will have considerable growth potential as a result of
uniting the foundry know-how of the partners and expanding the use of
existing distribution channels and market synergies in Europe, the
Americas and Asia. The joint venture will systematically pursue
elements of the partner´s existing strategies aimed at expanding and
strengthening market positions based on high-quality, full-service
solutions to meet the rising global demands of modern-day foundries.

When established, the joint venture will be able to offer its
customers holistic solutions and customized innovative consultancy
services. It will demonstrate a high degree of customer orientation
and specific knowledge of customers´ production processes, coupled
with proven expertise in research and development and application
engineering for foundry chemistry. The product range will include
resins, binding agents, finishing tools, additives, feeder heads,
filters, separating agents, metallurgical additives and cores. In
addition, the joint venture will continue the partners´ demonstrated
success as an innovator of environmentally-friendly, i.e.
emission-free and emission-reducing, moulding processes.

Operations merging into the ASK Chemicals GmbH joint venture are the
Casting Solutions business unit of Ashland Inc., including assets in
the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Japan, the UK,
Spain, Portugal, Italy, India and Korea; Süd Chemie's Foundry
Products and Specialty Resins business unit including the Süd-Chemie
subsidiaries SKW Giesserei GmbH, WD-Giesserei-Technik GmbH, Tecpro
Corporation Inc., Süd-Chemie Hi-Tech Ceramics Inc., Ajay Metachem
Süd-Chemie Pvt. Ltd., parts of Jiangsu Süd-Chemie Chemical Materials
Co., Ltd. and the companies belonging to the existing joint venture,
Ashland-Südchemie-Kernfest GmbH, and its subsidiaries (AS Group).

end of ad-hoc-announcement ==========================================
====================================== About Süd-Chemie Süd-Chemie
(www.sud-chemie.com) is a publicly quoted (Security Identification
Number ISIN: DE 0007292005; WKN: 729200) specialty chemicals company
headquartered in Munich, Germany and operating on a worldwide scale.
Key markets served by its Adsorbents Division include the consumer
goods, packaging and foundry industries, as well as water treatment.
Products manufactured by the Catalysts Division offer solutions for
the chemical, petrochemical and refinery industries, for energy
storage and hydrogen production, as well as off-gas purification. The
common denominator of all Süd-Chemie products and services is the
efficient and sparing use of natural resources to enhance the quality
of life for humans and the environment. The Süd-Chemie Group
generated sales of approx. EUR 1.1 billion in 2009, about 85% of
these outside Germany. At the end of December 2009, the group
employed some 6,500 people in more than 80 sales and production
companies worldwide.

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Süd-Chemie AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Patrick Salchow

Tel.: +49 (0)89 5110 250

E-Mail: patrick.salchow@sud-chemie.com

Branche: Chemicals
ISIN: DE0007292005
WKN: 729200
Börsen: Hamburg / free trade
Frankfurt / free trade
Berlin / regulated dealing
München / regulated dealing