9 June 2010

Focus on core business

K+S considers the sale of COMPO

COMPO is one of the leading suppliers of branded goods for home and garden. The product range includes fertilizers, plant protection products and high-quality potting soil as well as speciality products for public green, horticulture, special crops, and special application in agriculture. The company owns one of the best-known and most innovative brand and product portfolios, and is therefore in a very good position in a market that is currently very fragmented and characterised by high competition.

As a result of an analysis of COMPO‘s medium- to long-term market and business prospects commenced a few months ago, the Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board of K+S concluded that a consolidation within this industry will be required. Due to its strong market presence, COMPO is in a very good starting position to emerge successfully out of this phase of changes.

As the K+S Group’s strategy envisions growth particularly in the Potash and Magnesium Products and Salt business segments, the K+S Group has decided to focus its financial and management resources on these segments. However appropriate capacity to act is important for COMPO, particularly at present. Therefore, the Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board have declared themselves in favour of considering the sale of COMPO.

K+S has assigned the investment bank Goldman Sachs to accompany this process. A result is expected within one year. In preparation, over the next few months, K+S will develop a concept for a possible carve-out of COMPO from the K+S Group.

COMPO achieves revenues of approximately € 400 million and employs about 1,100 people all over the world.

Experience growth

The K+S Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of standard and speciality fertilizers. In the salt business, measured by production capacity, K+S, with sites in Europe as well as North and South America, is the world’s leading producer. K+S offers a comprehensive range of goods and services for agriculture, industry, and private consumers which provides growth opportunities in virtually every sphere of daily life. The K+S Group employs more than 15,000 people. The K+S share – the only commodities stock on the German DAX index – is listed on all German stock exchanges (ISIN: DE0007162000, symbol: SDF).