Baton Rouge-based Albemarle has agreed to sell its Chemetall Surface Treatment unit to German chemical giant BASF for $3.2 billion.
The deal is subject to regulatory clearance and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Chemetall is a chemical coating business that Albemarle acquired in January 2015 as part of its $6.2 billion acquisition of New Jersey-based Rockwood Holdings Inc., one of the largest lithium producers in the world.Â
As Business Report previously reported, the acquisition of Rockwood Holdings increased the size of Albemarle’s operations by more than 60%. It also positioned the Fortune 1000 company as a major player in the lithium market.
In May, reports surfaced that Albemarle was seeking to reduce its debt after acquiring Rockwood.Â
The sale of Chemetall is part of Albemarle’s efforts to boost shareholder value by investing in the growth of high priority businesses, according to Zacks, a financial research and news outlet. Albemarle has already sold two non-core businesses earlier this year and, as a result, saw its profits skyrocket in the first quarter of 2016.
The company reported first quarter profits of $228.2 million, or $2.02 per share, from $43.1 million, or 40 cents per share, a year ago.
In January, Albemarle sold its tribotecc metal and sulfides business to Treibacher Industrie AG. The company sold its mineral flame retardants and speciality chemicals business to Huber Engineered Materials, a division of J. M. Huber Corp, in February.
