Jan 5 2009
Cookson Group plc ("Cookson"), a leading materials science company, announces that on 23 December 2008 it completed the disposal of its Hi-Tech Ceramic filters business ("Hi-Tech") to companies owned by Süd-Chemie AG ("Sud-Chemie").
As a condition of the EU and US competition authorities’ approvals of the acquisition of Foseco plc (“Foseco”) on 4 April 2008, Cookson made a commitment to sell Foseco’s Carbon Bonded Ceramics business (“CBC”).
CBC was sold to RHI AG on 16 April 2008. As a further condition of the European Commission’s anti-trust approval of the acquisition of Foseco, Cookson made a commitment to sell Hi-Tech. On 20 October 2008, it was announced that an agreement had been entered into to sell Hi-Tech to Süd- Chemie, conditional, amongst other things, on obtaining regulatory approval from the European Commission.
Following confirmation of approval from the European Commission, the divestment was completed and, as a result, all anti-trust conditions relating to the Foseco acquisition have now been satisfied. The Hi-Tech business had revenue of approximately £5 million and trading profit of approximately £1 million in the six month period to 30 June 2008.