Bayer Sell Share in Silicones Joint Venture

Bayer is selling its 49.9 percent interest in the joint venture GE Bayer Silicones to its partner General Electric. The transfer of the interest, which for Bayer represents a financial investment, is occasioned by the sale of the GE Advanced Materials business unit to New York-based Apollo Management, L.P. The proceeds of the sale of Bayer’s interest total EUR 475 million. The transaction will improve Bayer’s non-operating result by around EUR 250 million. Closing is expected at the end of the year.

GE and Bayer formed the joint venture GE Bayer Silicones in 1998 to consolidate their silicone businesses and thereby strengthen their competitive position. The company employs 650 people in Germany, most of them at the Leverkusen headquarters.