10/01/2007 - Süd-Chemie streamlines its portfolio

Sale of Nanofil® business to German Rockwood subsidiary

Süd-Chemie AG, Munich, has reached an agreement with the German subsidiary of the US-based Rockwood Specialties Group Inc., Rockwood Clay Additives GmbH, on the sale of its peripheral business Nanofil®. The German Federal Anti-Trust Commission had already given the consent to the sale.

The Nanofil® product range comprises organically modified bentonite products that are used as flame retardants in cable plastics, for optimising the mechanical properties of polyolefins and in the films industry for improving barrier properties against gases and solvents.

The sale price for the Nanofil® business is undisclosed. The employees in the Nanofil® unit in Germany will be taken over by Rockwood.

The motivation for this transaction is commented by Dr Hans Jürgen Wernicke, Deputy Chairman of Süd-Chemie AG: "While our product range is consistently focused on adsorbents and catalysts, we believe that only in a very long-term would we have been able to achieve the critical mass for a sustainable perspective of the innovative but young peripheral Nanofil® business. In our view Rockwood is an ideal buyer who already offers a wide portfolio of similar plastic additives, which I am certain will be perfectly complemented by the Nanofil® products."

Munich, 1 October 2007

Enquiries:

Süd-Chemie AG
Corporate Public Relations
Jochen Orlowski
Ph. +49 (0) 89 5110-247

Süd-Chemie AG (www.sud-chemie.com) is a publicly quoted (Security Identification Number ISIN: DE0007292005; WKN: 729 200), independent specialty chemicals company headquartered in Munich, Germany and operating on a worldwide scale. Key markets served by its Adsorbents Division include the consumer-goods, packaging and foundry industries, as well as the paper and plastics industries and water treatment. Products manufactured by the Catalysts Division offer solutions for the chemicals, petrochemicals and refinery industries, for energy storage and hydrogen production as well as off-gas purification. The common denominator of all its products and innovations is the efficient and sparing use of natural resources to enhance the quality of life for humans and the environment. Süd-Chemie generated sales of just over €1 billion in 2006, approx. 80% of these outside Germany. At the end of 2006, the group employed approximately 4,800 people at its 70 sales and production sites worldwide. Süd-Chemie is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2007.