US firm outbids European rival Imerys for polymer and speciality minerals supplier

US firm Minerals Technologies (MTI) has outbid European rival Imerys to acquire polymer and speciality minerals supplier Amcol for $1.7 billion (£1 billion).

The deal overturns an agreed merger between Imerys and Amcol, forcing Amcol to pay Imerys a termination fee of $39 million.

All three companies produce mineral-derived materials for industrial applications, such as clays, abrasives, pigments, fillers and binders. In a statement, MTI claimed that the deal would ‘bring together the global leaders in precipitated calcium carbonate and bentonite, creating an even more robust US-based international minerals supplier’.