Business News
BASF to increase stake in hte to 75 percent
Monday 07. April 2008 - Access to high throughput methods for catalyst research and development
BASF SE and hte have reached an agreement for BASF to increase its stake in Heidelberg-based hte Aktiengesellschaft from 12.7 percent to 75 percent plus one share. The vendors and BASF have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction, which is still subject to merger control clearing.
The high throughput experimentation company, hte, is a leading provider of technology and services for enhancing research and development productivity, in particular in the areas of catalysis, material science and formulations. BASF has held a stake in the company since 2003 through its subsidiary BASF Venture Capital. After the transaction, htes operations will be unchanged and hte will continue to serve its international client base.
“BASF will benefit especially from htes experience as a global leader in the application of high throughput methods to heterogeneous catalyst R&D,” said Professor Dr. Rainer Diercks, President, Chemicals Research & Engineering at BASF. “As a result, we will be able to develop catalysts for a variety of applications faster and more efficiently.”
“The extension of BASFs commitment to hte is a clear endorsement of our companys technology and expertise offering and will afford hte long-term stability and a solid basis for future planning and investing in new technology development,” said Dr. Dirk Demuth, CEO of hte. “Since hte will continue to operate as an independent provider of technology and R&D services, all of our clients will benefit from this transaction,” added Dr. Wolfram Stichert, CFO of hte.