BASF plans to sell Relius Coatings decorative paints business

BASF Coatings has announced its intention to sell near-term the decorative paints business of Relius Coatings GmbH & Co KG and respective subsidiaries in France and The Netherlands. The business encompasses decorative paints and plaster as well as coatings and glazing for construction applications.

In 2010, the business had total sales of about €80M. The sites in Memmingen, Germany and Deurne, The Netherlands, are part of the divestiture, in addition to Relius distribution offices for decorative paints. Relius employs approximately 440 people in this business, which includes some 80 employees at the Oldenburg site, who work for the decorative paints business.

BASF’s business with decorative paints in South America and China is not affected by the planned divestiture and will be further expanded. Relius Coatings’ industrial coatings business that is managed out of the Oldenburg site will remain an integral part of BASF Coatings.

"In a very competitive market, we have been successful in stabilising the Relius deco paints primarily in the areas of brand, distribution and innovation,” said Raimar Jahn, president of the Coatings division of BASF. "To be profitable over the long-term, however, our market share is too low, particularly in Germany. For this reason, we believe that the Relius deco paints will develop better in another environment,” Jahn added.