- ARLANXEO joint venture launches on April 1, 2016 as planned
- LANXESS received cash proceeds of around EUR 1.2 billion
- Composition of ARLANXEO’s Shareholders’ Committee announced
​​​​​​​
Earlier today (April 1, 2016), specialty chemicals company LANXESS and Saudi Aramco have completed the formation of their 50-50 joint venture for synthetic rubber, ARLANXEO. The deal was first announced in September 2015, and all relevant antitrust authorities had cleared the transaction by February 2016.

With the closing of the transaction, a 50 percent share in the joint venture ARLANXEO was transferred to Dutch Saudi Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Overseas Holdings Coöperatief U.A. In return, LANXESS received cash proceeds of around EUR 1.2 billion.

LANXESS plans to invest around EUR 400 million of the proceeds from the transaction in organic growth. Another roughly EUR 400 million is earmarked for a further reduction of its financial debt position and around EUR 200 million are planned to be used for a share buyback program.

With the launch of ARLANXEO, the composition of the company’s Shareholders‘ Committee was also announced. It is chaired by LANXESS’ Chairman of the Board of Management Matthias Zachert. Warren W. Wilder, Vice President Chemicals at Saudi Aramco, is Vice Chairman. The additional members of ARLANXEO’s Shareholders’ Committee are Michael Pontzen, LANXESS’ Chief Financial Officer, and Khalid H. Al-Dabbagh, Controller at Saudi Aramco.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.9 billion in 2015 and about 16,200 employees in 29 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, specialty chemicals and plastics. Through ARLANXEO, the joint venture with Saudi Aramco, LANXESS is also a leading supplier of synthetic rubber. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World) and FTSE4Good.