(Reuters) – Lanxess, the world’s largest maker of synthetic rubber for tyres, has decided to hold on to the accelerators and antioxidants rubber chemicals business it had previously considered selling.
The business, which generates about 200 million euros ($260 million) in annual sales, according to analyst estimates, was part of three divisions the German company had said were likely to be put on the block.
The Lanxess board decided to abandon the sale of the accelerators and antioxidants rubber chemicals business at a recent meeting, a spokesman said on Thursday.
In March the chemicals maker sold its Perlon-Monofil fibres business, which manufactures plastics for fishing nets and generates about 30 million euros in sales.
The spokesman on Thursday reiterated that plans to sell the company’s nitrile butadiene rubber operations, the third unit in the package, had been shelved for now.
Chief Executive Matthias Zachert, who took over in April, started a restructuring programme to cut investments and development expenses to preserve cash.
He is also searching for a strategic partner to jointly tackle production overcapacity and weak prices in the synthetic rubber industry, a process he has said is likely to continue into next year. (1 US dollar = 0.7733 euro) (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by David Goodman)
– Reuters
