BASF and Entegris have signed an agreement on the sale of the Precision Microchemicals business to Entegris for US $90 million.

The transaction includes technologies, intellectual property and trademarks and is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

The Precision Microchemicals business is part of the Surface Treatment business unit of BASF’s Coatings division, operating under the Chemetall brand. It develops, manufactures, and markets high purity materials, including cleaning chemistries and Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) slurries used in the machining and surface conditioning of electronic materials.

The products are primarily used for cleaning and polishing of hard disk drives (HDD) and wide band gap semiconductor (WBGS) ultra-hard surface materials, including silicon carbide (SiC) used in power electronics and advanced communications. This business will be part of the Specialty Chemicals and Engineered Materials (SCEM) Division of Entegris.

“Under the ownership of Entegris – a leading global player in specialty chemicals and advanced materials solutions for the microelectronics industry – the Precision Microchemicals business will be well positioned to realize its full potential,” said Christophe Cazabeau, Senior Vice President - Surface Treatment, BASF.

“The acquisition of BASF’s Precision Microchemicals business adds technical expertise, intellectual property and talent to our broad specialty chemicals portfolio,” said Bertrand Loy, President and CEO of Entegris.

“In particular, it will build on our leadership in the CMP slurry market for ultra-hard surface materials, serving some of the fastest growing end-markets globally, including electric vehicles and 5G communications,” added Loy.