Platform Specialty Products Corp of US buys Alent chemicals firm for €1.8bn

US chemicals maker Platform Specialty Products Corp said it would buy UK’s Alent Plc for about £1.35bn (€1.87bn) in cash to expand its portfolio and save costs, sending shares of Alent to their highest on record.

The British chemicals maker’s shares rose 45% to a record high on the London Stock Exchange. The stock was the top gainer on the FTSE-250 Midcap Index yesterday.

The 503-pence-per-share offer from Platform Specialty is at a 49% premium to Alent’s closing price on Friday. Including debt, the deal is worth about $2.3bn, the companies said.