Basell

BASF and Shell Chemicals have agreed to sell their 50-50 joint venture Basell, a leading polyolefins manufacturer, to a consortium led by Access Industries and The Chatterjee Group for €4.4 billion including debt.

Basell has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire Solvay Engineered Polymers (SEP), a supplier of polypropylene compounds, from Solvay. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in early 2008.