BASF Buys Majority of High-Throughput Experimentation Firm
High-throughput experimentation applies the techniques of high-throughput screening, first developed for the pharmaceutical industry, to applications in the chemical and energy industries. Bloomberg.com reported that hte’s 2007 revenues were $23.7 million and that it employs 155 persons. 3i was one of three private equity companies that sold its shares to BASF. The remaining shares that BASF does not own are held by employees. Hte’s products include customized software, parallel reactors and lab automation workstations.
Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg, Germany 4/3/08—Chemical firm BASF SE has acquired a 75% stake plus one share in hte AG, a provider of high-throughput experimentation products and services for catalysis, material science and formulations. Hte’s owners included private equity firms 3i Group. Financial details were not disclosed. BASF previously owned 12.7% of the company, in which it first made an investment through BASF Venture Capital in 2003. “BASF will benefit especially from hte’s experience as a global leader in the application of high-throughput methods to heterogeneous catalyst R&D,” stated Dr. Rainer Diercks, president of Chemicals Research & Engineering at BASF. “As a result, we will be able to develop catalysts for a variety of applications faster and more efficiently.” BASF stated that hte’s operations will not change, and that the company will continue to offer services. The transaction is subject to approval from German antitrust authorities.
