Seattle, WA, USA--(Jobwerx)--January 23, 2004-- BASF acquires plasticizer business from Sunoco, Inc. Customers benefit from single source for broad line of linear and branched plasticizers.

Included in the transaction are Sunoco's Pasadena, Texas, site with the land, phthalic anhydride, and oxo alcohol manufacturing plants, and the phthalate esters, 2-ethylhexanol, and phthalic anhydride businesses. The unit had sales of approximately $150 million in 2002. Sunoco's Neville Island, Pa., site, which is not being acquired, will manufacture plasticizers for BASF under a tolling agreement.

The purchase price was $91 million. The transaction was structured as a purchase of assets, including fixed assets and working capital. The transaction also included purchase of intellectual property rights, tolling rights at the Neville Island facility and customer lists.

BASF currently has a plasticizer manufacturing site in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, and has a manufacturing and marketing agreement with Sterling Chemical in Texas City, Texas.

"With completion of this acquisition, we are positioned to deliver greater customer value by providing a broader line of linear and branched plasticizer products and new supply chain efficiencies," said Cenan Ozmeral, Group Vice President, Petrochemicals, for BASF in North America. "This action also demonstrates that BASF is strongly committed to plasticizer customers in North America."

"Our key priority now is an effective integration to ensure that this is a seamless transition experience for customers," said Martha Brabston, Business Director, Oxo Alcohols and Plasticizers, BASF in North America.

Phthalate plasticizers are materials used to give flexibility to vinyl, which is in turn used to make construction products, toys, medical equipment, and many consumer products.

About BASF: Helping Make Products Better

BASF is the world's leading chemical company, offering its customers a range of high-performance products, including chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as crude oil and natural gas. Its distinctive approach to integration, known in German as "Verbund," is its strength. It enables BASF to achieve cost leadership and gives the company a competitive advantage. BASF conducts its business in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. In 2002, BASF had sales of $34 billion and more than 89,000 employees worldwide. BASF Corporation is the North American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. In North America, 2002 sales were approximately $8.2 billion and the company employs approximately 12,000 people.

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