Wintershall Dea’s exploration and production (E&P) business excluding Russia-related activities was transferred to Harbour Energy plc (Harbour) on September 3, 2024; it consists of producing and development assets as well as exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn) as well as Wintershall Dea’s carbon storage (CCS) licenses.

In exchange, the shareholders of Wintershall Dea – BASF (72.7%) and LetterOne (27.3%) – received total cash consideration of $2.15 billion (BASF share: $1.56 billion) and new shares issued by Harbour equating to a total shareholding in the enlarged Harbour of 54.5% (BASF share: 39.6%).

The agreed enterprise value for the Wintershall Dea assets amounts to $11.2 billion. This amount includes the outstanding bonds of Wintershall Dea with a nominal value of around $4.9 billion that were also transferred to Harbour at closing.

With the closing of this transaction agreed in December 2023, BASF has taken the decisive step towards achieving the final separation from the oil and gas business.

The closing creates the opportunity for monetization of BASF’s stake in the combined company without further intermediate steps, as Harbour is listed on the London Stock Exchange. “The shares in Harbour Energy offer significant potential for value creation and allow BASF to gradually and optimally exit our financial participation in the company over the next few years,” said Dr. Dirk Elvermann, Chief Financial Officer of BASF SE.