<PAGE> 1
Exhibit 99.1
December 18, 2000
P 576 e
Michael Grabicki
Tel. (06 21) 60-99938
Fax (06 21) 60-20129
E-Mail: [email protected]
BASF CANCELS BOUGHT BACK SHARES
BASF Aktiengesellschaft has canceled a total of 15,856,500 shares - a good 2.5
per cent of all BASF shares. The company bought the shares on the stock exchange
in 2000 as part of its current share buy-back program, and paid a total of
Euro 700 million for them. At the beginning of 2000, BASF had announced that it
would buy back its own shares up to a total value of Euro 2 billion. For 2001,
the company plans to continue the share buy-back program and wants to buy back
its own shares for up to Euro 1.3 billion.
In 2000, BASF also issued 2,271,230 new shares to owners of warrants attached to
the bond of BASF Finance Europe N.V., which runs to April 2001.
When these changes have been taken into account, BASF's share capital at the end
of 2000 will be Euro 1,554,942,387.20 with a total of 607,399,370 shares.
BASF is a return-focused global company generating long-term growth and
profitability from its activities in chemicals, health and nutrition, and oil
and gas. The company's product range includes high-value chemicals, plastics,
dyestuffs and pigments, dispersions, automobile and industrial coatings, crop
protection products, fine chemicals, crude oil and natural gas. BASF's approach
to integration, known in German as "Verbund," is one of the company's particular
strengths and provides a unique competitive advantage. With sales in 1999 of
Euro 29.5 billion (about $29.5 billion) and a workforce of 105,000 employees,
BASF is one of the world's top chemical companies. BASF's Internet address is
www.basf.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains forward-looking statements under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current
expectations, estimates and projections of BASF management and currently
available information. They are not guarantees of future performance, involve
certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and are based upon
assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Many factors
could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of BASF to be
materially different from those that may be expressed or implied by such
statements. Such factors include those discussed in BASF's Form 20-F filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not assume any obligation to
update the forward-looking statements contained in this release.
