Imerys To Acquire World Minerals

French industrial minerals giant Imreys, have announced a definitive agreement for the $230M acquisition of global perlite and diatomite leader, World Minerals Inc., from parent Alleghany Corp. The buyer is Imerys USA Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Imerys SA, and the acquisition is subject to the relevant anti-trust approvals. Closing of the transaction is expected to occur by the end of July. There have been rumours in the market for several months that Imerys was in the process of finalising a major acquisition, but he scale is still something of a surprise - $230M in cash for a company with over 20 plants worldwide.