April 30, 2008

Barbara Müller
Head of Corporate Press
Phone	+49 201 177-3423
Fax	+49 201 177-3030
barbara.muellerr@evonik.com

Divestment of RÜTGERS Chemicals completed

Evonik Industries AG, Essen (Germany) has closed the sale of its subsidiary RÜTGERS Chemicals to the financial investor TRITON. It was agreed that the purchase price would not be disclosed. Following approval by the relevant bodies and the antitrust authorities, the transaction was closed on April 30, 2008. Evonik decided to divest RÜTGERS Chemicals because the group focuses in its Chemicals Business Area on specialty chemicals.

RÜTGERS Chemicals is an internationally active base chemicals company. It is Europe’s leading producer of tar chemicals and a global supplier of raw materials to the aluminum and steel industries. The company had around 950 employees worldwide in 2007 and generated sales of some €700 million.

TRITON is a leading independent private equity company. Its investment strategy is focused on companies with significant development potential in German-speaking areas of Europe and the Nordic countries. TRITON operates from local sites in Frankfurt, Stockholm and London. 

Company information
Evonik Industries is the creative industrial group from Germany which operates in three business areas: Chemicals, Energy and Real Estate. Evonik is a global leader in specialty chemicals, an expert in power generation from hard coal and renewable energies, and one of the largest private residential real estate companies in Germany. Our strengths are creativity, specialization, continuous self-renewal, and reliability. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In its fiscal year 2007 about 43,000 employees generated sales of about €14.4 billion and an operating profit (EBIT) of more than €1.3 billion (preliminary figures).

Disclaimer
In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.