Performance materials specialist Ferro (Cleveland, Ohio / USA; www.ferro.com) is to acquire inorganic pigment producer Nubiola Pigmentos (Barcelona / Spain; www.nubiola.com) for EUR 146m. Nubiola has facilities worldwide and claims to be the largest producer of Ultramarine Blue, a high-value pigment for plastics and construction industries. It generated USD 119m in sales in 2014, the year of its centenary – see Plasteurope.com of 14.02.2014.

Nubiola’s other products include speciality iron oxides, chrome oxide greens and corrosion inhibitors. The family-owned company employs around 750 people and has production facilities in Spain, Colombia, Romania and India as well as a joint venture in China.

Ferro’s present inorganic colour pigments business focuses predominantly on the coatings market while Nubiola’s largest end markets are the plastics and construction industries. Peter Thomas, chairman, president and CEO of Ferro, said the strengths of the businesses are complementary, adding: “Nubiola is an excellent strategic fit with Ferro, as we strengthen our position as a global colour solutions provider. The acquisition will significantly expand our product portfolio and geographic footprint and more than triple the size of our addressable market in inorganic pigments to greater than USD 1 bn. Nubiola will bring technology leadership on a global scale in Ultramarine Blue, along with a range of other high-value pigment and corrosion inhibitor product lines.”