Cabot buys Chinese Tokai Carbon facility for $9M

Boston — Cabot Corp., a supplier of carbon black and other chemical additives for the rubber and plastics industries, said Nov. 15 that it will acquire Tokai Carbon (Tianjian) Co. Ltd., located in China, for $9 million.

The deal between Cabot and Tokai Carbon Group is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, according to Cabot.

"The acquisition of Tokai Carbon (Tianjin) is a natural extension for us as it aligns with our strategy to strengthen our global leadership positions while pursuing advantaged growth opportunities in high-growth, high-performance markets such as battery materials," said Sean Keohane, Cabot president and CEO. "With this acquisition, we will be better positioned to deliver solutions to meet the rapidly increasing demands for lithium-ion batteries and will do so by operating responsibly and investing in advanced environmental controls to reduce our impact."

First operational in 2006, the plant in Tianjian sits near an existing Cabot carbon black and specialty compounds plant. The acquisition will augment Cabot's battery materials segment—especially as it relates to lithium-ion batteries—while still serving the carbon black industry.

The Tokai site manufactures up to 50,000 metric tons of carbon black per year, and Cabot said it will invest in the facility so that it can produce battery grades of conductive carbon black.

This type of carbon black, Cabot said, can increase the range of EV vehicles that use lithium-ion batteries.

"We are very pleased to transfer the business to Cabot and wish the employees great success with the new owner," said Hajime Nagasaka, president and CEO of Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd.

Tokai Carbon Group is based in Tokyo and supplies carbon and graphite products in the steel, aluminum, automotive, semiconductor and electronics markets.