Elementis Specialties Enters into Agreement To Acquire Sasol Servo B.V.

Elementis Specialties, through a wholly owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Sasol Limited to acquire, on a debt-free and cash-free basis, the entire issued share capital of Sasol Servo B.V. for a purchase price of approximately $57.9 million in cash. For the year ended June 30, 2003, the Servo Group had turnover of $123.4 million.
    
The complementary nature of Servo’s businesses with Elementis Specialties’ existing rheology and surface chemical additives business will broaden the range and performance characteristics of Elementis Specialties’ product offering and extend its innovation capabilities.
    
“Acquisition is a key element of our growth strategy for Elementis Specialties,” said Geoff Gaywood, chief executive of Elementis. “The acquisition of Servo will broaden the range of products offered to existing markets, open access to new markets, expand manufacturing capabilities and considerably extend the range of technologies available to accelerate innovation. This is a deal with considerable upside potential for Elementis.”