Heerlen-based specialty chemicals group DSM is selling its resins and functional materials arm to German polymer maker Covstro AG in a deal worth €1.6bn.

The divestment is the latest transaction in the company’s 10-year drive to focus on nutrition and health, rather than bulk chemicals, and follows the recent acquisitions of the Erber Group, Glycom, and CSK.

‘This sale builds on our approach of actively managing our businesses, as DSM continues to evolve as a purpose-led, science-based company operating in the fields of nutrition, health and sustainable living,’ the company’s joint chief executives Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze said in a statement. ‘The deal delivers strong value to DSM and is strategically attractive for all parties’.

Completion of the transaction, which is subject to the customary conditions and approvals, is expected in H1, 2021.

At the beginning of this month, DSM said it is cutting its workforce by 200 and 170 of the jobs will go in the Netherlands.

The Dutch jobs will go at the company’s plant in Sittard-Geleen and at the biotech centre in Delft. The company told Nu.nl the job cuts are due to changes in the market, a process which has been accelerated by the coronavirus crisis.