Grace To Buy Polyolefin Catalysts Business From Albemarle For $416 Mln

(RTTNews) - W. R. Grace & Co. (GRA), a polyolefin catalysts and licensing company, Thursday said it signed an agreement to acquire the Polyolefin Catalysts business of Albemarle Corp. (ALB) for $416 million.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

The Polyolefin Catalysts business is a provider of proprietary and custom-manufactured single-site catalysts as well as metallocenes and activators. The acquisition also includes a comprehensive series of highly optimized Ziegler-Natta catalysts for polyethylene production.

Grace said the acquisition significantly strengthens its catalysts technology portfolio, commercial relationships, and manufacturing network.

With the deal, approximately 175 employees will join Grace's global team. The company said the two manufacturing operations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Yeosu, South Korea add important flexibility to its global catalysts manufacturing network.

Grace expects to finance the transaction with a combination of debt and cash.

Grace Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred Festa said, "This transaction aligns perfectly with our strategy to expand our leadership position in polyolefin catalysts. ...Both the catalysts and activators product lines are tied to high-growth applications and the manufacturing assets bring important scale and capital synergies."