German chemicals giant BASF has signed a contract to sell its subsidiary Industrial Water Management France SAS to Degremont, water treatment specialist for local authorities and industrial customers.

Degrémont, a subsidiary of Suez Environnement, will continue operations at the production sites in Lyon and La Courneuve, France. Closing of the transaction is expected to take place during the third quarter 2013.

Last month BASF said it was planning to divest its industrial water management business to concentrate on providing “innovative chemical solutions” to the water industry.

BASF had sales of €72.1 billion in 2012 and more than 110,000 employees as of the end of the year.