BASF Completes Acquisition of Ciba

BASF has successfully completed its acquisition of Ciba Holding AG, which closed today with the payment of the offer price to Ciba shareholders. At the same time, the tendered shares were transferred to BASF. The company
now holds 95.8 percent of Ciba. Ciba shares that were not been tendered
as part of the public offer can be traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange until further notice.

As of closing, BASF board member Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel has become chairman of Ciba’s board, the company’s senior supervisory body. Further members of this body are Hans-Walther Reiners and Dr. Jörg Buchmüller. All three BASF managers were elected at the Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders of Ciba Holding AG held in Basel, Switzerland, in December 2008. All previous members of Ciba’s board have resigned.

BASF intends to fully integrate Ciba into the BASF Group. The integration
process will start with a “Discovery Phase.” 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, according to BASF.

The actual integration process will begin in July.