Speciality chemicals firm Johnson Matthey has agreed to reduce the sale price of its Catalyst Technologies (CT) division by over a quarter to £1.33 billion, and has extended the deadline for the takeover by Honeywell International.
The original deal, struck in May, valued CT at £1.8 billion including debt, with net proceeds of around £1.6 billion expected for shareholders. The revised price reflects CT's business performance during 2025/26, including deferred sustainable solutions licensing projects and reduced profitability from catalyst supply due to challenging market conditions.
Johnson Matthey now expects to return approximately £1 billion to shareholders via an £800 million special dividend and a £200 million share buyback programme. Shares in the company fell 16% in morning trading on Monday following the announcement.
The price cut follows reports that Honeywell considered walking away from the deal due to concerns over regulatory approvals and business milestones. The deadline for completing the deal has been pushed back from February 21 to July 21, with a possible further extension to August 21.
The sale of CT, which designs and produces catalysts for the chemicals and energy industries, is part of Johnson Matthey's strategy to focus on clean air and platinum group metal chemicals.
