Rockwood Holdings Inc. agreed to part with its Clay-Based Additives operations in favor of the ALTANA Group for US $635 million. The agreement is projected to be completed in the latter part of the year after the transaction is approved by the regulatory bodies.

The Clay-Based Additives is a subdivision of the Performance Additives operations of Rockwood, which earned sales receipts amounting to US $191.4 million in 2012.

Seifi Ghasemi, CEO of Rockwood, said in a statement that the sale of the clay-based segment is just part of the overall company strategy to boost the value for shareholders.

"I want to thank our Clay Based Additives management team and employees for their dedication and execution over the past few years during a challenging macro-environment. We wish them well as they work with ALTANA to develop and grow their business platform," Ghasemi said.

The Germany-based ALTANA Group is a multinational company that manufactures and distributes leading brands in specialty chemicals industry. It generated over Eur 1.7 billion in annual sales.