BASF Escapes Cognis Cleanup After Private Equity Pushes Change

BASF SE can escape the hangover of a post-takeover revamp with its purchase of Cognis GmbH after a decade of private-equity ownership left the German maker of cosmetics ingredients with about 3,500 fewer workers.

BASF, the world’s No. 1 chemical maker, today agreed to pay Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Permira Advisers Ltd. 3.1 billion euros ($3.8 billion) for the Monheim, Germany-based company. The two buyout firms purchased Cognis from Henkel AG in 2001 and spent the following years selling leather processing and fatty-acids units, helping cut 39 percent of the workforce.