MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Avecia's Additives Become Part of Lubrizol's Coatings and Inks

The Additives business of Avecia (Blackley, Manchester, U.K.; www.avecia.com), which includes Solspersc, Solplus and Solthix additives - all of which are based on polymeric dispersion technology and are used in coatings and inks

- will be acquired by Lubrizol Corp. (Cleveland, OH; www.lubrizol.com). Included in the acquisition are Avecia' s manufacturing facility in Huddersfield, U.K., and technical centers in the U.K., Singapore and Charlotte, NC. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2004, increasing the value of Lubrizol's existing $100-million paints, coatings and inks business unit by 50%.

BASF Engineering Plastics Purchases Ticona's Nylon 6,6

Ticona GmbH (Kelsterbach, Germany; www.ticona.com), the technical polymers branch of Celanese AG (Kronberg, Germany; www.celanese. com), sold its nylon 6,6 business to BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com), stating that it lacks the critical mass in nylon 6,6 needed to achieve its strategic objectives over the long term. BASF will receive all intellectual property rights, licenses and customer lists for Ticona's nylon 6,6 products, which are currently marketed under the Celanese brand name, but will not obtain manufacturing sites, equipment or related assets. During the transition period, Ticona will be contracted to compound nylon 6,6 for BASF from its Bishop, TX, and Florence, KY, sites.