(Reuters) German chemicals giant BASF announced the sale of its Brazilian painting division to US coatings company Sherwin-Williams for $1.15 billion.
The division, with sales of around $525 million in 2024, was BASF's only significant venture with end users, it said.
The sale of the division is just one step in the company's reorganization, announced by chief executive Markus Kamieth in September, aiming to lead the world's largest chemical company out of a deep crisis.
BASF is to sell a number of divisions while its agricultural business is to be floated on the stock exchange.
Dividends for shareholders will be cut for the first time since 2010 under the plans and there is a threat of further closures of chemical plants at the main site in Ludwigshafen in western Germany.
Unspecified job cuts are believed to be planned, although BASF currently has an agreement in place until the end of year that rules out redundancies at the plant.
A BASF spokeswoman told dpa that the company is negotiating with the works council at the Ludwigshafen site over plans to waive compulsory redundancies and modernize operations.
