Clariant AG is a Swiss speciality chemicals company, formed in 1995 as a spin-off from Sandoz. The company is focused on four business areas: care chemicals ; catalysis; natural resources ; and plastics & coatings. Headquartered near Basel, Switzerland, the public company encompasses 110 operating companies in 53 countries. Major manufacturing sites are located in Europe, North America, South America, China and India. In 2015, sales from continuing operations were 5.8 billion CHF. European markets account for about one-third of sales, while Asia-Pacific, North America and Latin America account for about one-fifth each. Net income in 2015 was 227 million CHF, while EBITDA was 853 million CHF. The company has sales of around US$6 billion. Headquarters are officially in Muttenz, but most central functions are officed in a dedicated corporate centre in nearby Pratteln, both near Basel, Switzerland. Clariant's four business areas, are: Plastics & Coatings, Care Chemicals, Natural Resources and Catalysts.
Business history
The company started in 1995, as a spinoff of the chemical operations of Sandoz, which then merged its pharmaceutical business with that of Ciba-Geigy to form Novartis. In 1997, Clariant grew substantially, with the acquisition of the Hoechst speciality chemicals business. In 2000, Clariant bought British Tar Products, in 2006 Clariant bought Ciba's Masterbatches division, and in 2011 Clariant acquired German speciality chemical company Süd-Chemie. In 2013, Clariant divested its textile chemicals, emulsions and paper specialities businesses to SK Capital. In 2014, Clariant divested its leather services to Stahl Holdings and its detergents & intermediates business to Weylchem of the International Chemical Investors Group. Clariant International Ltd partners with matchmycolor LLC, a colour know-how company and Konica Minolta Inc, a Japanese technology company to efficiently colour match the polyolefin products easier and faster.
Merger of equals: HuntsmanClariant
In May 2017, Clariant and Huntsman Corporation announced that they would merge, as equals, forming HuntsmanClariant which would be the global leader in specialty chemical production - with the deal valued at $20 billion. Clariant shareholders will own 52% of the new entity, with Huntsman shareholders owning the remaining 48% of shares. In October 2017, the merger between Clariant and Huntsman Corporation was halted due to concerns that a two-third shareholder approval, required by Swiss law, could not be reached. The all stock transaction would not have found support by White Tale Holdings, which continues to accumulate stocks while opposing the consolidation. On January 25, 2018, White Tale Holdings, which is a partnership between hedge fundCorvex Management LP and investment group 40 North, ended its hostility and sold 25% of its stake to SABIC despite previous assertions that it was a long term holder. Shares tumbled by as much as 11% on that news, wiping out approximately 1 billion Swiss francs from the company's market value.
Research & development
As of end-2015, some 1,100 of Clariant's some 17,000 employees were engaged in R&D, mainly at the company's 8 global R&D centers and its 50+ technical application centers. In 2015, the company spent CHF 204 million, or 3.5% of sales on R&D.
In January 2017, Clariant opened a new business unit dedicated to active ingredients for the cosmetic industry. Based in Toulouse, within the Bioparc south of the Oncopole, this new unit is focused on expanding Clariant's portfolio of naturally sourced ingredients with its two strategic partners, BioSpectrum and Beraca. The new facility includes laboratories for product testing and skin biology studies, and dedicated R&D and marketing teams. At the end of 2017, Clariant Active Ingredients counted 17 employees.
