MUNICH, Germany - Wacker Chemie AG has successfully concluded its acquisition of full ownership of Air Products Polymers (APP) and Wacker Polymer Systems (WPS), its two joint ventures with Air Products and Chemicals Inc. WACKER expects APP and WPS to be fully integrated into the group structures by year-end.

WACKER will take full ownership of the two companies’ activities in Allentown, PA; Calvert City, KY; Cologne and Burghausen, Germany; South Brunswick, NJ; and Ulsan, South Korea. In return, Air Products is to receive the production facilities at Elkton, MD, and Piedmont, SC, as well as related business. Air Products will also receive a payment of $265 million. WACKER estimates that the acquisition will help boost the group’s 2008 polymer business to about €1 billion.

WACKER expects the acquisition to benefit its global polymers business on several strategic fronts. Advantages include backward integration at U.S. and Asian dispersion plants, as well as the expansion of its supply chain outside the Eurozone. In addition, the deal strengthens WACKER’s portfolio in application areas such as adhesives and coatings.