DSM confirms sale of iodine unit for $72 million

The divestment of the unit, which consists of facilities and mining reserves in Chile and commercial operations in The Netherlands, is the latest step in DSM's long-term strategy to refocus its core activities on its specialties portfolio.

The transaction price is in cash and is debt-free. In addition to this, the working capital will be paid for.

DSM announced that it was considering the deal just this week. A spokesman told NutraIngredients.com on Tuesday that iodine has become more of a stand-alone business unit since the company started to shift its direction away from commodities towards specialty products in 2000.

The biggest step DSM has taken to this end include the acquisition of Roche's Vitamins & Fine Chemicals business, subsequently renamed DSM Nutritional Products, in 2003. Other divestments have taken place, including the sale of its 50 stake in the South African yeast products manufacturer Rymco, to its joint venture partner Daniel Mills & Sons for €39 million in July 2004.

DSM, which has its headquarters in The Netherlands, has annual sales of around €8 billion. The Vision 2010 strategy is driven by growth in the specialties market, innovation and increasing presence in emerging economies.

The original strategy was launched in 2000 and called Vision 2005. This aimed to generate €10 billion in 2005. In fiscal 2004, the group's overall turnover was €7.75 billion.

This was renewed in October 2005 with a new five year plan which aims to increase the role of specialty products to 50-60 per cent of sales, up from 40 per cent currently, helped by acquisitions in nutrition and performance materials, as well as accelerating its innovation program in these fields.