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Altana
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Altana AG (styled as ALTANA) is a German chemical company headquartered in Wesel. It was created in 1977, as a result of spinning off divisions from the Varta Group.[4][self-published source] The first CEO was Herbert Quandt.
Key Information
The group comprises the divisions BYK (coating additives and instruments), Eckart (metal effect pigments and metallic printing inks), Elantas (insulation materials for the electrical and electronics industries) and Actega (coatings and sealant compounds for the packaging industry).
The Altana Group has 66 production facilities and 69 service and research laboratories worldwide. In 2024, the company, with around 8,400 employees, posted revenues of over €3 billion.[3]
History
[edit]Altana's roots go back to 1873, when Heinrich Byk founded the chemicals factory Dr. Heinrich Byk Chemische Fabrik in Oranienburg. The company grew, and in 1931, it was renamed BYK-Gulden Lomberg. In 1941, majority control of the company was acquired by AFA (Akkumulatoren-Fabrik AG) which was renamed VARTA in 1962. In 1977, VARTA was split into three companies, one of which was Altana.[5]
From 1977 to 2010, Altana was publicly traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Altana was also admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange from 2002 to 2007.
On 19 December 2006, the majority of shareholders voted to approve the sale of the pharmaceuticals division to the Danish company Nycomed.[6] Nycomed is owned by an investment consortium led by Nordic Capital and Credit Suisse. With the sale of the pharmaceuticals division, headquartered in Konstanz, Germany, Altana lost a major pillar of its business. At that time, 9,000 of the company's 13,500 employees were working for Altana in the pharmaceuticals sector, generating two-thirds of the company's total revenue. And indeed, the balance-sheet revenues fell by around 60 percent in 2006, but gained over six percent in 2007.
The patent for pantoprazole, a stomach ulcer and reflux treatment drug, the main revenue-generator for the former pharmaceuticals division, expired in 2009/2010. While the Altana Management Board justified the divestiture of the pharmaceutical business with delays in the approval of new products, increased research and development costs as well as strict regulatory requirements in the US and Europe, shareholder activists asserted that the management board had invested too little in the pharmaceutical business in the preceding years and had failed to develop successor products in time to compensate for the revenue losses to be expected due to the expiry of the pantoprazole patent at the end of the decade.
The pharmaceuticals division was sold for €4.6 billion. The entire proceeds from the sale were disbursed to the shareholders, who received a special dividend of €33 per share. Critics expressed discontent that the main shareholder benefited most from the sale of the pharmaceuticals division.
Until 1 January 2007, the company was organized into the pharmaceuticals division Altana Pharma AG, formerly Byk Gulden Lomberg Chemische Fabrik, headquartered in Konstanz, and the specialty chemicals division Altana Chemie AG based in Wesel. Since the sale of the pharmaceutical business to Nycomed, Altana has been operating exclusively in the specialty chemicals segment. This restructuring was accompanied by a change in the company logo, which was unified across all subsidiaries.
On 6 November 2008, main shareholder SKion GmbH (Germany, owned by Susanne Klatten) issued a public takeover offer of €13 per share for all outstanding shares, an action which drove up the stock price.[7] A company spokesperson stated that the intention was to delist the company from public trading. To achieve this, SKion issued a second takeover offer of €14 per share to the remaining shareholders on 9 November 2009.[8]
On 30 December 2008, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange announced that Altana would be removed from its MDAX index, as the increase in the share held by SKion had pushed the portion of stock held in free float to under ten percent. By June 2010, SKion held 95.04 percent of all shares.
In Germany, the stock was traded mainly on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart Exchanges and the Xetra platform; internationally, it was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange and the NASD Group, now FINRA, in the US.
After SKion acquired the entire Altana stock through a squeeze-out, trading in this stock was suspended effective 27 August 2010.
References
[edit]- ^ "Martin Babilas - ALTANA AG".
- ^ "Dr. Tammo Boinowitz - ALTANA AG".
- ^ a b c "Altana Corporate Report 2024", altana.com. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ AG, ALTANA. "History - ALTANA AG". www.altana.com.
- ^ "History". Altana AG. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ "Global leader in true specialty chemicals - ALTANA AG". www.altana.com. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "boerse.ARD.de : Klatten will Altana ganz schlucken". 13 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Skion strebt Squeeze-out bei Chemiekonzern Altana an". Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
External links
[edit]Altana
View on GrokipediaOverview
Founding and corporate structure
Altana AG traces its foundational roots to 1873, when Dr. Heinrich Byk established a chemical laboratory in Berlin that later evolved into key components of the company's early operations.[4] The company was formally founded in 1977 as a spin-off from the Varta Group's non-battery divisions, encompassing pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and specialty chemicals, under the initiative of industrialist Herbert Quandt to streamline and concentrate on these activities.[4][8] This separation resulted in Altana AG emerging as an independent entity from the broader Varta conglomerate, which retained its battery and plastics operations.[9] Altana AG operates as an Aktiengesellschaft (AG), a stock corporation under German law, with its headquarters located in Wesel, Germany.[10] Initially established as a publicly traded company upon its 1977 formation, it remained listed on the stock exchange until 2010.[4] During 2006–2010, SKion GmbH, controlled by Susanne Klatten—daughter of Herbert Quandt—progressively acquired shares through tender offers, culminating in a squeeze-out resolution at the 2010 annual general meeting that transferred all remaining shares to SKion, delisting Altana and transitioning it to private ownership.[4][11] As of 2024, Altana AG employs approximately 8,400 people worldwide, supporting its organizational structure as the managing holding company for its specialized chemical divisions.[12]Leadership and key personnel
Martin Babilas has served as Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of Altana AG since January 2016. Born in 1971 in Aachen, Germany, he studied business administration and earned an MBA after a banking traineeship. Babilas joined Altana in 1998 as a project manager in finance, progressing through roles in strategic business development, mergers and acquisitions, and management positions within Altana Chemie AG before ascending to the executive board in 2007. Under his leadership, the company has emphasized innovation in specialty chemicals, particularly in developing sustainable solutions for coatings, adhesives, and electrical insulation materials.[13][14] Dr. Tammo Boinowitz joined the Management Board in January 2023, overseeing the BYK Additives & Instruments and ECKART Effect Pigments divisions, as well as innovation management, procurement, and environmental, health, and safety functions. Holding a doctorate in chemistry from his studies between 1986 and 1995, Boinowitz brings extensive experience in the chemicals sector, having held technical and executive roles at Th. Goldschmidt AG, Degussa AG (later Evonik), and as Chairman of BYK-Chemie GmbH from 2021 to 2023, where he focused on polyurethane additives and global market expansion. His expertise supports Altana's advancements in material science and sustainable additives.[15][16] Stefan Genten has been a Member of the Management Board and Group Chief Financial Officer since August 2015, responsible for finance, accounting, controlling, treasury, taxes, legal affairs, intellectual property, compliance, digital transformation, and information technology. Born in 1968 in Aachen, he studied business administration, political science, economics, and sociology, earning a Dipl.-Kaufmann degree. Prior to Altana, Genten served in senior finance and controlling positions at Rheinbraun AG, RWE AG, and Grünenthal GmbH, where he was Group CFO and COO from 2009 to 2014. His financial acumen has guided Altana's strategic investments in growth and operational efficiency.[17] Altana AG operates under a two-tier board structure typical of German corporations, with the three-member Management Board executing strategy and the 12-member Supervisory Board providing oversight and advisory support. The Supervisory Board is chaired by Prof. Dr. Frank Richter since March 2024, with deputies Ulrich Gajewiak and Susanne Klatten; other members include Dr. Sven Abend, Jürgen Bembenek, Dr. Anette Brüne, Antje Gerber, Ruud Joosten, Tanja Kliegel, Klaus Koch, Dr. Jens Schulte, and Stefan Soltmann. Oversight is significantly influenced by SKion GmbH, the majority shareholder, through representatives such as deputy chairwoman Susanne Klatten, who holds the shares via her investment vehicle and ensures alignment with long-term value creation.[18][19] The executive team has prioritized sustainability and digital transformation as core strategic pillars. Babilas has driven climate protection initiatives, positioning Altana's innovations—such as recyclable coatings and wind energy materials—at the forefront of the industry's green transition, reducing Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions by 70% from 2014 to 2023 despite sales growth. Genten integrates sustainability into financial decision-making, including sustainability-linked financing, while advancing digital tools for supply chain optimization and data-driven R&D. Boinowitz contributes through innovation in eco-friendly additives, enhancing customer products' environmental performance.[20][21][22]Financial performance
In 2024, Altana AG reported total sales of €3,169 million, marking a 16% increase from €2,742 million in 2023, driven by organic growth and acquisitions such as the Silberline Group.[3][23] The company's revenue is diversified across its four main divisions, with additives and instruments contributing the largest share.| Division | Sales (€ million) | Percentage of Total |
|---|---|---|
| BYK | 1,337 | 42% |
| ELANTAS | 878 | 28% |
| ACTEGA | 519 | 16% |
| ECKART | 434 | 14% |
