Degussa-Hüls Merger with SKW Trostberg Planned

DÜSSELDORF, Germany — German energy giants Veba AG and Viag AG announced plans to combine their chemical subsidiaries into a business that will focus on specialty chemicals, with the merger expected to occur by next year. The new company, to be called Degussa AG, will combine the chemical groups Degussa-Hüls AG, owned by Veba, and SKW Trostberg AG, owned by Viag.

Veba and Viag last year announced plans to merge in a 13.9-billion-euro ($12.6 billion) deal, but the merger has not obtained antitrust approval. Degussa will become one of the world’s largest specialty chemicals companies in terms of sales, the parent companies said.