Johnson Matthey Sells
Pigments & Dispersions
To Rockwood Specialties
Johnson Matthey has agreed to sell its pigments and dispersions business to a subsidiary of Rockwood Specialties Group, Inc., a specialty chemicals and advanced materials company, for £27.0 million in cash. The transaction is conditional upon regulatory approval in Germany.
Pigments and dispersions are part of Johnson Matthey’s colors and coatings division. It manufactures and sells specialty inorganic pigments to the surface coatings and plastics industries, and has factories in Kidsgrove in Stoke-on-Trent, Sudbury in Suffolk and Melbourne, Australia. The business employs approximately 280 people. In the financial year ending March 31, 2004, Johnson Matthey’s pigments and dispersions business had external sales of £29.9 million.