Joint press release of BASF, BERTSCHI, HOYER and VTG:

VEOLIA Cargo to acquire RAIL4CHEM

Seven years after setting up the company, the shareholders of the privately- owned Essen-based rail cargo company RAIL4CHEM – BASF SE, HOYER GmbH Internationale Fachspedition, Bertschi AG and VTG Aktiengesellschaft – have decided to sell the company to VEOLIA Cargo (Paris). The parties agreed not to disclose the acquisition price. The transaction requires the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities and is expected to be finalized during the first half of 2008. 

BASF, Bertschi, HOYER and VTG set up RAIL4CHEM in 2000 to intensify competition in the rail cargo sector. Since its inception, RAIL4CHEM has advanced to become one of the major private providers in the business in parallel with increasing liberalization of European rail markets and had sales of over €80 million last year. When the transaction is complete, RAIL4CHEM and VEOLIA Cargo's existing rail cargo business will be combined to become Europe's leading privately owned provider of rail cargo services, on track for continued profitable growth in a strong alliance.

The existing transport routes, businesses and licenses of the two companies are a perfect match, making VEOLIA Cargo the preferred partner of RAIL4CHEM's former owners. BASF, HOYER, Bertschi and VTG will remain customers of RAIL4CHEM.

RAIL4CHEM

RAIL4CHEM Eisenbahnverkehrsgesellschaft mbH was set up in 2000 under the joint ownership of BASF SE (Ludwigshafen), Bertschi AG (Dürrenäsch, Switzerland), HOYER GmbH Internationale Fachspedition and VTG Aktiengesellschaft (both based in Hamburg). With its subsidiaries RAIL4CHEM benelux B.V. (Rotterdam), RAIL4CHEM transalpin AG (Basel) and fer Polska S.A. (Warsaw), RAIL4CHEM Group has permits in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Switzerland. Together with partners (European Bulls), it also provides transport services to Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia. RAIL4CHEM employs approximately 180 people.

Veolia Cargo

Veolia Cargo is an independent private European freight transportation company, a subsidiary of Veolia Transport, specialized in rail-based logistics. In 2007, Veolia Cargo employed 1000 people and generated revenue of €122 million. It is primarily involved in medium and long-distance rail-freight transportation (national and cross-border services), management of private sidings at industrial sites and local rail networks, and train-haulage-related services and logistics services at industrial sites.

Contact for press:

RAIL4CHEM Eisenbahnverkehrsgesellschaft mbh
Katrin Kurlbaum, Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 201 4304-270, fax: +49 201 4304-279
email: katrin.kurlbaum@rail4chem.com

BASF SE
Christian Siemens, Corporate Media Relations Europe
Tel. +49 621 60-99623, fax: +49 621 60-92933
email: christian.siemens@basf.com

Bertschi AG
Hans-Jörg Bertschi, CEO
Tel.: +41 79 330-5072, fax: +41 62 767-6800
email: hjb@bertschi.com

HOYER GmbH Internationale Fachspedition
Sylvelin Reif, Corporate Center Marketing
Tel.: +49 40 21044-416, fax: +49 40 21044-405
email: sylvelin.reif@hoyer-group.com

VTG Aktiengesellschaft
Simone Aulert, Communications and Marketing
Tel.: +49 40 2354-1343, fax: +49 40 2354-1340
email: simone.aulert@vtg.com