ARNHEM, The Netherlands, Oct. 31, 2006 -- Akzo Nobel has agreed to sell its MPP Systems® business to Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies -- part of the water division of French company Veolia Environnement. Financial details have not been disclosed.
Based in Arnhem, the Netherlands, MPP Systems specializes in developing, marketing, manufacturing and servicing water purification systems for onshore and offshore use, based on macroporous polymers. Sales in 2005 totaled around EUR 5 million [US$6.35 million].
"This is a good strategic deal for all concerned which will see MPP Systems become part of the world's leading water and process water services company," said Dick Meijer, General Manager of MPP Systems. "The separation technology we have developed has proved itself to be highly effective and the prospects for the future will be further enhanced at Veolia, where solutions and technologies for water treatment are core business."
MPP Systems has supplied Macro Porous Polymer Extraction (MPPE) water treatment units to multinational companies such as Total, Shell, Albemarle, Statoil and Gaz de France, and recently provided a MPPE unit to Hydro for the prestigious Ormen Lange gas field project in the Norwegian Sea. MPPE units are also involved in major groundwater remediation projects such as in Schwarze Pumpe (Germany) under the management of the Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH.
A subsidiary of Veolia Water, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (VWS), is the world leader in engineering, design, project management and execution of construction projects for turnkey facilities and water treatment plants.
Paul Capell, Chairman of VWS Westgarth Ltd. and the executive responsible for leading this deal on behalf of Veolia, said: "VWS are looking to further develop their capability in waste water treatment, and more specifically in produced water treatment. We are excited about the acquisition of MPP as it brings some great technology and great people, and I am sure that the business will prosper under VWS."
Unions and employee representative bodies have been informed. Regulatory approvals will be sought as and where appropriate.
Closing of the deal is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Akzo Nobel is a Global Fortune 500 company and is listed on both the Euronext Amsterdam and NASDAQ stock exchanges. It is also included on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes and FTSE4Good Index. Based in the Netherlands, we are a multicultural organization serving customers throughout the world with human and animal healthcare products, coatings, and chemicals. We employ more than 62,000 people and conduct our activities in four segments − human and animal health, coatings and chemicals − subdivided into 13 business units, with operating subsidiaries in more than 80 countries. Consolidated revenues for 2005 totaled EUR 13.0 billion. The financial results for the full year will be published on February 15, 2007.
MPP Systems specializes in separation technologies for water treatment. The patented MPPE technology is a flexible method to separate hydrocarbons from process water, offshore produced water or groundwater. A guaranteed removal percentage of 99.9999 percent is feasible for aliphatics, aromatics, halogenated / chlorinated hydrocarbons, MTBE and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The MPPE technology is based on extraction. Porous polymer spheres act as carrier for nontoxic and biodegradable extraction medium that absorbs and extracts hydrocarbons from water. The plastic particles are capable of reducing contaminant concentrations in water by a factor of more than 1 million, which means that concentrations of thousands ppm (parts per million) can be lowered to below 1 ppb (parts per billion). This is done in only one cycle. Aside from clean water for recycling or discharging, the MPPE unit also yields almost 100% pure hydrocarbons suitable for reuse.
Veolia Water, the Water Division of Veolia Environnement , is the leading operating company for water services in the world. Specializing in the outsourced management of water services for municipal or industrial customers, it is the world leader in engineering, design and execution of construction projects for turnkey facilities and water treatment plants. The company also creates dedicated technological solutions. This activity, which has been the Group's core business for more than 150 years, encompasses the entire water cycle.
For more information, see: www.akzonobel.com; www.akzonobelmppsystems.com; www.veoliawater.com
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