Press Release
Henkel KGaA, Corporate Communications
Seite 1/4
Australia April 4, 2008
Australia: Note to editors
Henkel has taken over from Akzo Nobel the Adhesives and Electronic Materials
businesses previously owned by National Starch.
Henkel’s acquisition of National Starch in Australia will mean its production
and satellite sites in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland will
complement Henkel Australia’s production and supply chain network.
By acquiring the Adhesives and Electronic Materials businesses of National
Starch, Henkel substantially further strengthens its leading position in the
global adhesives markets, particularly in the industrial segment. The
businesses of National Starch and the existing Henkel Adhesives Technologies
portfolio excellently complement each other.
For information/interviews on the Australian operations, please call:
Pia De Lima, Burson-Marsteller on (03) 9426 1314 / 0418 311 437
Lin Macdonald, Burson-Marsteller on (03) 9426 1317 / 0408 501 381
Henkel KGaA, Corporate Communications
Page 2/4
Düsseldorf, April 3, 2008
Adhesives business significantly strengthened
Henkel closes acquisition of National Starch
businesses
Henkel has taken over from Akzo Nobel the Adhesives and Electronic Materials
businesses previously owned by National Starch. “This acquisition represents
a milestone in our 130-plus-year corporate history and points Henkel clearly in
the direction of further profitable growth,” said Ulrich Lehner, Chairman of the
Management Board of Henkel KGaA. The acquisition was preceded by the
carve-out of the businesses to be acquired by Henkel and the requisite
antitrust and anticompetitive investigations by the relevant authorities.
In 2007, these two business segments of National Starch generated sales of 1.25
billion GBP (about 1.83 billion euros). The purchase price was 2.7 billion GBP (about
3.7 billion euros). Following the integration, annualized sales of Henkel’s Adhesives
Technologies business sector will increase to about 7.5 billion euros. Henkel expects
synergies from the acquisition of 240 to 260 million euros per year and anticipates it
will realize the full synergy potential from 2011 on.
“We will do everything in our power to integrate this excellent company with its
outstanding employees and products quickly and smoothly”, added Ulrich Lehner.
Henkel will provide an update on the integration process in connection with the
publication of the Q1 figures on May 7, 2008.
Market position strengthened
By acquiring the Adhesives and Electronic Materials businesses of National Starch,
Henkel substantially further strengthens its leading position in the global adhesives
markets, particularly in the industrial segment.
The businesses of National Starch
and the existing Henkel Adhesives Technologies portfolio excellently complement
each other.
Henkel KGaA, Corporate Communications
Page 3/4
Within Henkel’s Adhesives Technologies business sector, the acquisition will have a
particular impact on the packaging and wood adhesives businesses, as well as on
the electronics business. Henkel, for example, has very good market positions in the
laminating adhesives segment used in the manufacture of flexible packaging for food
products, while National Starch is a leader in pressure-sensitive adhesives.
As a
result of the merger, these technologies will be accessible to a larger number of
customers, while new areas of application are expected to be developed.
In the
electronics field, National Starch offers a specialty adhesive with which electronic
chips can be bonded on – for example – credit cards, while Henkel markets solutions
for the protection of these sensitive chips against damaging environmental influences
such as heat or sun radiation.
The combination of the two businesses now enables
customers to source both solutions from a single supplier.
Henkel also sees a significant strengthening of its regional market positions.
The
share of sales accounted for by the Asia-Pacific region will, with the acquisition of the
National Starch businesses, increase from 8 percent to around 12 percent, and the
share of sales of the adhesives business per se in this region will actually double due
to the already strong position of both companies. At the same time, the strong market
position enjoyed by Henkel in Europe, particularly in the growth region of Eastern
Europe, can be leveraged
to accelerate expansion by enabling brands and
technologies from National Starch to be marketed via the Henkel sales and
distribution network already established in this region.
For more than 130 years, Henkel has been a leader with brands and technologies that make people's
lives easier, better and more beautiful. Henkel operates in three business areas – Home Care,
Personal Care, and Adhesives Technologies – and ranks among the Fortune Global 500 companies.
In fiscal 2007, Henkel generated sales of 13,074 million euros and operating profit of 1,344 million
euros. Our 53,000 employees worldwide are dedicated to fulfilling our corporate claim, "A Brand like a
Friend," and ensuring that people in more than 125 countries can trust in brands and technologies
from Henkel.
This information contains forward-looking statements which are based on the current estimates and assumptions made by the
corporate management of Henkel KGaA. Forward-looking statements are characterized by the use of words such as expect,
intend, plan, predict, assume, believe, estimate, anticipate, etc. Such statements are not to be understood as in any way
guaranteeing that those expectations will turn out to be accurate. Future performance and the results actually achieved by
Henkel KGaA and its affiliated companies depend on a number of risks and uncertainties and may therefore differ materially
from the forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are outside Henkel's control and cannot be accurately estimated in
advance, such as the future economic environment and the actions of competitors and others involved in the marketplace.
Henkel neither plans nor undertakes to update any forward-looking statements.
Henkel KGaA, Corporate Communications
Page 4/4
Henkel KGaA
Head of Corporate Communications
Ernst Primosch, Corporate Vice President
Press Contact:
Henkel Corporate Communications
Lars Witteck
Wulf Klüppelholz
Phone: +49-211-797-2606
Phone: +49-211-797-1875
Fax: +49-211-798-9208
Fax: +49-211-798-9208
press@henkel.com
NEWS 
