ALTANA Completes Acquisition of USBP

After having received the approval by the German antitrust authorities, ALTANA AG has completed the acquisition of the effect pigments business of United States Bronze Powders Inc. (USBP) with immediate effect. The acquired business will be transferred to ALTANA’s division ECKART Effect Pigments. The acquisition contract was signed in August 2008.
    
The acquired business mainly comprises the production and the selling of copper pigments, bronze pigments and stainless steel pigments, as well as press-ready metallic printing inks, excluding aluminum pigments. In 2007, USBP achieved sales of about $8 million. No manufacturing site and no employees are included under the agreement with USBP. The production for this business will be transferred to ECKART’s U.S. affiliate ECKART America in Painesville, OH, and to its main factory in the Bavarian town of Güntersthal in Germany.