Altana plans to spin off chemicals; acquires pigments maker.(Altana Chemie Inc., Eckart Werke)

Altana (Bad Homburg, Germany) says it plans to spin off its Altana Chemie (Wesel, Germany) specialty chemicals business v-a a separate share listing in 2006, and focus on pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, Altana has agreed to acquire Eckart (Furth, Germany), a family owned manufacturer of metallic effect pigments and metallic printing inks, for 630 million [euro] ($765 million) in cash. That deal is due for completion in the fourth quarter.

Altana says it decided on the spin-off because of a lack of synergies between its pharma and chemical businesses, and because buying Eckart will give Altana Chemie sufficient critical mass to be a stand-alone entity. "Our chemicals …