Delphi Corp. is selling its automotive catalyst business to Belgian metals firm Umicore for $55.6 million, the auto parts maker said Wednesday.
Catalysts, with a metals-coated ceramic base, go inside a catalytic converter and are used to clean up auto emissions. Delphi previously had decided to sell that unit as part of its restructuring program.
Delphi requested a bankruptcy hearing for Aug. 16 to approve the sale, which would follow a June 26 hearing to set procedures for spinning off the business.
The sale is expected to close in the third quarter. Umicore will acquire manufacturing facilities in Tulsa, Okla.; Florange, France; and Port Elizabeth, South Africa, as part of the deal. It also will hire “certain employees” of the catalyst business from Delphi.
Umicore has 17,000 employees worldwide.
