BASF plans to combine all of its pigments activities into a global business unit (GBU) as of January 2016 before carving out the entire business into separate legal entities in the second half of the year.

All employees dedicated to the pigments business will be transferred to the new business unit, which is likely be headquartered in the Ludwigshafen area. Alexander Haunschild, senior vice president of the regional business unit Pigments and Resins Europe, will head the new GBU.

The German chemical giant did not say whether it intended to spin off or sell any of the businesses, which had combined sales of about €1 billion in 2014 and 2,500 employees globally.

By creating an organization fully dedicated to pigments, BASF will be better able to adapt to the challenges in the pigments industry and its customers benefit from tailored services and higher responsiveness, Haunschild said.

“We have achieved and maintained a leading position in the pigments market through acquisitions and a series of successful restructuring measures. The new global business unit will fully concentrate on the pigments business and thus be even more focused on supporting the needs of our pigments customers,” said Markus Kramer, president of the Dispersions & Pigments division.

BASF’s pigments are sold to a number of industries including paints & coatings, printing & packaging and plastics. The portfolio is comprised of color pigments such as phthalocyanines, high performance pigments, azo pigments, effect pigments, inorganic pigments, dyes and pigment preparations.