Albemarle (BR Headquarters) to Acquire Rival in 6.2 Billion Dollar Deal

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The specialty chemical maker Albemarle said on Tuesday that it had agreed to acquire its rival Rockwood Holdings in a cash-and-stock deal worth about $6.2 billion.

The deal would combine two of the world’s largest specialty chemical companies, producing four main types of chemicals: lithium, catalysts, bromine and surface treatment chemicals.

“The resulting company will have broader customer reach, increased diversity across end markets, technologies and geographies, and more consistent and predictable earnings growth,” Luther C. Kissam, Albemarle’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Mr. Kissam will be president and chief executive of the combined company.

Albemarle, based in Baton Rouge, La., will pay $50.65 in cash and 0.4803 of an Albemarle share for each share of Rockwood Holdings. The transaction values Rockwood at $85.53 a share, 13 percent above its closing price on Monday.

After the transaction, Albemarle shareholders will own about 70 percent of the combined company.

Rockwood, based in Princeton, N.J., posted net revenue of $354.5 million in the first quarter. Its products are used in metal processing and by the aerospace and European luxury automotive industries.

Albermarle expects to realize about $100 million in annual cost savings by 2015. The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, and it is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.

Albemarle employs about 3,900 people and sells its products in more than 100 countries. The company posted net revenue of $656 million in the first quarter.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the law firms Shearman & Sterling; Troutman Sanders; and Kelley Drye & Warren advised Albemarle.

Rockwood Holdings was advised by Lazard and Citigroup and the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

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