Lanxess places bid for DSM Elastomers - report

By David Shaw, ERJ staff

Leverkusen -- FT Deutschland is reporting that Lanxess AG has made a bid for DSM Elastomers. The newspaper said industry observers had confirmed the rumours, but did not cite any names or sources. Both Lanxess and DSM Elastomers declined to comment on the press report.

The newspaper said the deadline for expressions of interest in the DSM subsidiary passes this week, but did not mention any other companies in connection with the bid. Jan-Paul de Vries, president of DSM Elastomers told ERJ in June this year that he expected bids for the company to come from Asia, rather than Europe. DSM refused to comment on the timescale of the divestment process.

Lanxess has repeatedly said it wishes to have rubber businesses which are in the top two or three in the world. Most recently, Lanxess board member with responsibiity for rubber, Werner Breuers told ERJ that the company considers EPDM a core business. Breuers declined to speculate on persistent market rumours that Lanxess is bidding for the DSM Elastomers business. 

Lanxess has said it wants to build its elastomers business in China, and DSM Elastomers claims to be market leader for EPDM in that region.

Currently Lanxess operates an EPDM unit in Marl, Germany and a unit in Orange, Texas, each with capacity of around 70 kt/year, according to estimates by the IISRP.

DSM has three lines in Geleen, Netherlands and a single line at a plant in Triunfo, Brazil, with total capacity around 140 kt. Combined, the two companies would be by far the largest supplier of EPDM in the world.

ExxonMobil Chemicals and Dow Chemical are currently the two largest suppliers of EPDM and ethylene elastomers in the world, each with capacity of around 210 kt/year, though in both cases, this is split between EPDM terpolymer and ethylene elastomers.

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Press report from FT Deutschland (German language)

Press report from FT Deutschland auto translated into English language