BASF welcomes new employees worldwide

* Employee events at Ciba sites
* BASF Chairman Hambrecht: One team from today

Ludwigshafen , Germany . – A few days after the closing of the Ciba acquisition, BASF is welcoming its new employees worldwide. Welcome events are taking place from today onward at several large Ciba sites in Europe, Asia and North and South America. Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of BASF’s Board of Directors, and BASF Board members Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel and Dr. John Feldmann met personally with employees at the former Ciba headquarters in Basel, Switzerland.

Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht also addressed employees via a video message at sites in Lampertheim and Grenzach, Germany; Monthey, Switzerland; Raisio, Finland; Tarrytown, New York; São Paulo, Brazil; Shanghai, China; and Singapore. “From today there are no longer Ciba employees on the one side and BASF employees on the other: We are now a joint BASF team,” said Hambrecht. “We want to create added value and develop chemistry and innovations to help our customers.”

Hambrecht stressed the strategic logic of the acquisition and the need to restructure the combined Ciba and BASF business units quickly in order to ensure their long-term success. Decisions would be taken with all due fairness and with respect for the contribution of each individual.

BASF announced its plans to acquire Ciba in mid-September 2008. In particular, Ciba has a leading market position with regard to its portfolio of plastics additives and coating effects materials. With the acquisition of Ciba, BASF will strengthen its portfolio and will expand its leading position in specialty chemicals. Together with Ciba’s business, BASF will become a leading supplier of paper chemicals.

A “Discovery Phase” started following the closing of the acquisition on April 9. During this phase, joint teams consisting of BASF and Ciba employees will analyze the acquired businesses in depth. The goal of the analysis is to define a market-oriented positioning for the combined businesses as well as the optimal organizational structure. The actual integration process will start in July 2009 on the basis of these results