Lanxess

LANXESS Aktiengesellschaft is a specialty chemicals group based in Cologne, Germany. The group was founded in 2004 with the spin-off of the chemicals division and parts of the polymers segment from Bayer AG. The core business of LANXESS lies in the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good Index. LANXESS is the ninth largest chemicals group in Germany in terms of sales. Shares in LANXESS AG have been listed in Germany’s DAX from September 24, 2012 until September 21, 2015 and today in the midcap index MDAX.

History

The company’s roots date back to 1863, the year Bayer AG was founded. In November 2003, the Bayer Group decided to divest major sections of its chemical operations and around a third of its polymer business into an independent company as part of a major realignment. LANXESS was founded with new internal structures on July 1, 2004. An extraordinary Bayer Stockholders’ Meeting was convened in Essen in November 2004. More than 99 percent of the capital represented at the meeting voted for the spin-off of LANXESS from Bayer.