Johnson Matthey (JM) is to sell its Catalyst Technologies business to Honeywell for £1.8bn, saying the move will allow it to become a more "streamlined" business.
JM's Catalyst Technologies business licenses process technology and designs and manufactures catalysts for use in the energy and chemicals industries. It has around 1,900 employees and is headquartered in London, UK, with sites in the US, Europe and India.
Liam Condon, JM's chief executive, said the move was a “significant milestone” in the history of the company.
“This allows JM to realise a very attractive valuation for this business that fully reflects its strong long-term growth prospects. We will now fundamentally re-shape Johnson Matthey into a more focused and leaner business,” he said.
The Catalyst Technologies business has more than 150 projects in its sustainable technologies portfolio pipeline that is expected to deliver attractive long-term profitable growth as part of the shift to net zero, JM said. It described the sale valuation of Catalyst Technologies as “highly attractive” in that it represented a transaction multiple of 13.3x EBITDA.
Late last year JM’s largest shareholder Standard Investments published an open letter asking JM to launch a strategic review. When the transaction is completed, which is expected by the first half of calendar year 2026, £1.4bn will be returned to shareholders.
“Following a period of engagement with Honeywell, the Board of JM concluded that the terms of the transaction represent a compelling value proposition for JM shareholders,” the company said.
After the sale, JM said, it would focus on its Clean Air and its Platinum Group Metal Services (PGMS) businesses “operating in large and durable addressable markets with attractive long-term prospects.”
PGMS is the world’s largest secondary refiner of platinum group metals; Clean Air designs and manufactures emission control catalysts to reduce pollutants such as NOx from vehicle exhausts and other sources.
Honeywell said the combination of JM’s Catalyst Technologies business with its own Energy and Sustainability Solutions (ESS) business segment is expected to “add attractive high growth vectors” to the portfolio and drive significant additional benefits through cost synergies.
Catalyst Technologies' business model complements Honeywell's existing UOP business of selling catalyst and process technologies and expands its installed base across refining and petrochemical catalysts, Honeywell said.
The acquisition will allow it to offer a “comprehensive” set of options for the production of lower emission, critical fuels including sustainable methanol, sustainable aviation fuel, blue hydrogen and blue ammonia, which enhance energy security and reduce emissions, it said. “The resulting offerings will provide licensed technology, engineering, services and catalysts to convert hydrocarbon and renewable feedstocks to high-value end products,” it said.
"As we continue to expand and evolve our ESS portfolio, acquiring Johnson Matthey's Catalyst Technologies business will provide our customers a comprehensive and cost-effective approach to transition their businesses to high-value products with lower emissions," said Ken West, President and CEO of Honeywell's ESS segment.
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