(Wyoming Business Report, April 1) – The $1.64 billion sale of FMC Corp.’s trona mine near Green River closed today, marking the company’s departure after 65 years at the mine.
The sale of FMC’s alkali chemicals business to Tronox has been in the works for months, with the companyannouncing the sale of the mine in February aftershopping for buyers since September 2014. FMC is separating itself from the mine to help finance the $1.8 billion purchase of a multinational crop protection company called Cheminova.
FMC CEO Pierre Brondeau said the mine will thrive under its new owners, “a leading, global mining and minerals company.”
The closing also helps FMC’s balance sheets as it prepares to close its own Cheminova deal in April to transform into what Brondeau called a global agriculture, health and nutrition company.
All employees of FMC now transfer to Tronox leadership.
“The combination of Tronox and Alkali creates a leading inorganic chemicals company comprised of two fully integrated businesses with a competitive industry advantage,” said Tom Casey, CEO of Tronox in a release. “Tronox now has greater scale, more stable revenue, cash flow and EBITDA, and higher net income.”
Casey added that other producers make soda ash synthetically, but that naturally harvested soda ash from trona has a continuing cost advantage.
