Johnson Matthey PLC (LSE:JMAT) said it agreed to sell part of its Battery Materials business to Australia’s EV Metals Group PLC, a global battery chemicals and technology business, for £50mln in cash.
Johnson Matthey will also receive a minority equity stake in EV Metals.
The sale includes Johnson Matthey's assets at the Battery Technology Centre in Oxford and the Battery Technology Centre and pilot plant in Billingham, a research centre in Moosburg, Germany and the partly constructed site in Konin, Poland. The sale does not include Johnson Matthey's LFP facility in Canada, which will be acquired by Nano One.
"Johnson Matthey made the decision to exit Battery Materials due to insufficient returns, increased commoditisation of battery materials combined with the need for very high capital investments to remain competitive,” said Johnson Matthey chief executive Liam Condon.
“With EV Metals Group vision and capability to be a fully integrated battery chemicals business, I am very confident that they are the right owner for the Battery Materials business going forward.”
Johnson Matthey took a £314mln charge in its interim results relating to the carrying value of its battery materials assets and then announced in January 2022 that it expected additional cash costs up to £150mln.
“After taking into account the proceeds of this sale these net additional cash costs are now expected to be no more than £50mln,” it said in a statement.
The transaction is expected to complete in Summer 2022.