LONDON (AP) -- British chemicals producer Lucite International Group Ltd. said Tuesday it has agreed to a $1.6 billion cash takeover by Japan's Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd., which would gain ownership of the Lucite and Perspex acrylic plastic brands.
The deal makes Mitsubishi Rayon the latest in a long list of Japanese companies, including Takeda Pharmaceutical and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, to take advantage of the strong yen to buy international firms at low prices amid the global financial crisis.
Mitsubishi Rayon will buy 100 percent of unlisted Lucite from its private British owners, including investment fund Charterhouse Capital Partners, the current majority owner.
The purchase, which is expected to be completed in January 2009 if approved by regulators, will make Mitsubishi the world's biggest manufacturer of methyl methacrylate monomers, a key material in products ranging from liquid crystal display television screens and mobile phones to kitchen counters and car lights.give the japanese company ownership of the perspex and lucite acrylic plastic brands.
"The acquisition of Lucite will give us an unprecedented range of production technologies in the industry, enabling us to adapt more flexibly to raw material trends and better serve our customers," said Mitsubishi Rayon's president Masanao Kambara.
Overseas acquisitions by Japanese companies have already totaled $61 billion this year according to Thomson Reuters data, smashing the previous full-year record of $44.2 billion, which was set in 2006.
Mitsubishi's shares closed down 10 percent at 220 yen ($2.25) in Japan.
