Business News

BASF converts to registered shares

Friday 30. April 2010 - Majority shareholder vote in favor of conversion; Dividend of €1.70 to be paid out per share; Shareholders approve executive board remuneration system

BASF SE shareholders at the Annual Meeting in Mannheim on April 29, 2010 approved all the items on the agenda by a clear majority. 477,749,207 shares were represented overall at this year’s Annual Meeting, corresponding to 52.02 % of share capital.

Shareholders voted by a large majority in favor of conversion of BASF shares from bearer shares to registered shares. Conversion of the 918.5 million BASF shares is scheduled to take place on August 2, 2010. Shareholders will be informed by their custodian banks about the upcoming conversion and will receive further details regarding entry in the share register.

The Annual Meeting also approved the distribution of a dividend of €1.70 per eligible share, corresponding to a payout of approximately €1.6 billion out of a net profit of €2.176 billion for the parent company BASF SE in fiscal 2009. Payment will take place on April 30, 2010, the first day of business following the Annual Meeting.

A large majority of shareholders also voted to approve the system for remuneration of the members of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. The German Act on Appropriateness of Management Board Remuneration (Gesetz zur Angemessenheit der Vorstandsvergütung; VorstAG) made it possible for the Annual Meeting to vote on approval of the system.