Sasol Ltd. (SOL), the world's biggest coal-to-gasoline producer, sold its stake in an Iranian unit after writing down the value of the business, Bloomberg reported.
Sasol sold its 50 percent stake in Arya Sasol Polymer Co. to Main Street 1095 (Pty) Ltd., a South African subsidiary of an Iranian investor, the Johannesburg-based company said today in a statement, without disclosing a price.
"As a result of this transaction, Sasol has no ongoing investment in Iran," the company said in the statement.
Sasol in November 2011 said it was in talks to sell its stake in Arya, which is co-owned with Pars Petrochemical Co. of Iran, a unit of state-owned National Petrochemical Co. (PETROCH) In June, Sasol said the sale process was slower than anticipated. The U.S. and European Union are pressuring Iran to curtail its nuclear program, which they say is aimed at developing an atomic weapon. The nation says its nuclear research is for civilian use.
Sasol wrote down the value of Arya by 1.97 billion rand ($195 million) for the second half of 2012 on Feb. 8, and impaired it by a further 1.6 billion rand by June 30, cutting the carrying value of Arya to 2.3 billion rand, it said Aug. 1.