US specialty chemicals firm Chemtura said to acquire Platform Specialty for $1 bn

US specialty chemicals maker Chemtura Corp is selling its agrochemicals business to Platform Specialty Products Corp in a $1-billion cash and stock deal, The Wall Street Journal today reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Under the deal, which is likely to be announced today, Platform Specialty will pay $950 million in cash and 2 million in shares, the report said.

Chemtura AgroSolutions, formerly known as Chemtura Crop Protection, is a provider of fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, miticides, plant growth regulators and seed enhancement products, which enhance the quality and yield of tree fruits, tree nuts, vines, vegetables, cereals, ornamentals and select row crops.

Its products also enhance quality and increase yield in specialty crop markets by protecting plants from insect pests, mites and diseases, as well as eliminating unwanted weeds.

Based in Georgia, Chemtura AgroSolutions serves four distinct regions - North America; Latin America; Asia Pacific; and Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Formed through the 2005 merger of Great Lakes Chemical Corp and Crompton Corp, New York and Euronext Paris-listed Chemtura Corp is a global specialty chemicals company with leading positions in diversified markets, including transportation, electronics and energy, and agriculture.

The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based company manufactures products in 11 countries and sells in over 100 countries. 

With a market value of  about $2.4 billion, Chemtura Corp has 3,500 employees in research, manufacturing, sales and administrative facilities in every major market of the world, with regional headquarters and shared service centers in Brazil, China, US, the UK and Switzerland.

Florida-based Platform Specialty was earlier a shell company known as Platform Acquisition Holdings based in Virgin Islands and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

In October 2013, Platform Acquisition Holdings acquired Miami–based specialty chemicals maker MacDermid Incorporated, for $1.8 billion and renamed itself Platform Specialty Products, and applied for delisting from the LSE.

Platform Specialty is a producer of high technology specialty chemical products and provider of technical services.

Its business involves the manufacture of a broad range of specialty chemicals, which are created by blending raw materials, and the incorporation of chemicals into multi-step technological processes.

Its clients are from the electronics, metal and plastic plating, graphic arts, and offshore oil production and drilling industries.