Hoechst sells stake
Hoechst, now a holding company sub-division of Franco-German life sciences group Aventis, is to sell its 50% stake in industrial chemicals concern Wacker-Chemie back to the Wacker family, which owns the other half. The move continues Aventis's strategy of divesting all the remaining Hoechst industrial businesses.
Wacker produces semiconductors, polymers, silicones and other industrial materials from production sites across Europe, the US and Asia. It has 17,000 employees, and last year garnered sales of DM5.9bn.