BASFY Wraps Up OBA Transfer to Catexel, Advances Portfolio Shift

BASF SE BASFY recently announced the completion of the divestment of its Optical Brightening Agent (OBA) business to Catexel. The transaction was closed at the end of February 2026. The financial details of the deal, which was signed in December 2025, remain undisclosed. The sale marks a further step in BASF’s ongoing portfolio optimization strategy. 

The business was part of BASF’s Care Chemicals division and focused on the production of specialty optical brighteners used in laundry detergent formulations. The deal consists of international operations, including the manufacturing facility at Monthey, Switzerland, along with approximately 80 employees who transferred to Catexel upon closing. 

This transaction is a continuation of BASF’s longstanding “Winning Ways” portfolio transformation strategy to manage and prioritize its businesses actively, enabling the company to focus on higher-growth core segments. 

The transaction underscores the broader trend within the care chemicals industry toward portfolio specialization and operational optimization. The acquisition meaningfully strengthens Catexel’s specialty chemicals portfolio and enhances its production capabilities in detergent and cleaning ingredients. 

Shares of BASFY are down 8% over the past year compared with the industry’s 11.7% decline. 

BASFY’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

BASFY carries a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). 

Better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space include Albemarle Corporation ALB, DuPont de Nemours, Inc. DD, and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. APD. ALB and DD sport a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while APD carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB’s current-year earnings is pegged at $7.87 per share, indicating a 1,096.2% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average earnings surprise being 58%. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DD’s current fiscal-year earnings stands at $2.28 per share, reflecting a 36% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 6.5%. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for APD’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $13.01 per share, indicating a 8.15% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average earnings surprise being 0.44%. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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