Johnson Matthey sells health business for £325m

UK chemicals group Johnson Matthey has sold its health business to Altaris Capital Partners for £325m, the company said on Friday.

It will keep around 30% of the division and said it expects to realise “significant additional future value”. The sale is expected to result in an accounting loss of around £200m.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in mid-2022.

Johnson Matthey last month said it was in talks over a potential sale of the struggling health business which has been hit by labour shortages in the US and supply chain constraints.

It also issued a profits warning at the time and said it was exiting its battery business as it swung to a pre-tax loss of £9m compared with a profit of £26m a year ago.

"As the world transitions to more sustainable technologies, we are focusing our portfolio on the most attractive growth areas, specifically businesses driving growth from climate change solutions - circularity solutions, hydrogen technologies and decarbonisation of chemicals and fuels. The sale of health is a further step towards simplifying our portfolio," said chief executive Robert MacLeod.

"While health has good long-term prospects, near term trading has been challenging, and the business requires significant capital investment. Health operates in different markets from the rest of JM, and we believe Altaris is the best partner to drive its future value."