Johnson Matthey to leave gold, silver refining business

Johnson Matthey, headquartered in the U.K., has announced that it has agreed to sell its gold and silver refining business to Asahi Holdings Inc., a Tokyo-based refiner and recycler of precious and rare metals from scrap materials, for $186 million. The deal is subject to postclosing adjustments and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2015, according to Johnson Matthey. 

The business Johnson Matthey is selling, Gold and Silver Refining Holdings Ltd. (GSR) Ltd., includes refineries in Salt Lake City and in Brampton, Ontario. The GSR business also provides investment casting services from its St. Catharine, Ontario, facility and employs about 340 people.

"The divestment of the gold and silver refining business is in line with our long-term strategy to focus on areas where we can use our expertise in chemistry and its applications to deliver high technology solutions or that provide a strategic service to the wider Johnson Matthey group," says Robert MacLeon, Johnson Matthey CEO.

Asahi Holdings Inc. has established a wholly owned subsidiary, Asahi America Holdings, to run the newly acquired business.

Asahi says GSR has a large share of the gold and silver refining business in North America and has developed a strong brand presence and high technological capabilities.

“We believe that GSR Group is highly compatible with our business given its broad sourcing of materials, production and distribution of precious metals products and technological capabilities in refining," Asahi Holdings states in a news release. "By acquiring GSR Group, we hope to expand the geographic reach and business field of our existing business.”