Johnson Matthey to unveil £1.5bn-plus sale amid activist pressure

Johnson Matthey, the London-listed industrial group, will on Thursday announce the sale of a unit involved in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as its board fends off pressure from an American activist investor.

Sky News has learnt that Johnson Matthey will announce, as part of its full-year result, that it is selling its Catalyst Technologies arm - one of four main divisions at the company. Banking sources said the deal had been agreed for a price of between £1.5bn and £2bn - which at the upper end would equate to more than 80% of the group's entire £2.3bn market capitalisation.

The identity of the buyer could not be established on Wednesday evening. Read more:M&S warns of £300m hacking crisis hit - and disruption could last monthsInflation surges to 3.5% due to April bill shock Selling its Catalyst Technologies is expected to be welcomed by some shareholders who have argued that Johnson Matthey has been insufficiently focused on higher-growth businesses with more obvious potential to generate financial returns.

The London-listed company has been under siege from Standard Industries, the US-based conglomerate which is its biggest shareholder with a stake of over 10%. Standard Industries wrote an open letter to Johnson Matthey's board in January, accusing it of destroying shareholder value.

It said the British company's directors were guilty of a "continued lack of urgency and incapacity...to do what is necessary to turn Johnson Matthey around and help it to realise its potential". The Catalyst Technologies arm accounted for roughly a fifth of group sales in the half-year to the end of August, but about a third of group profit.

As well as being involved in the production of technology needed to make SAF, the division is a market leader in supplying specialised services to the chemicals and energy sectors, with a particular focus on decarbonisation. More generally, Johnson Matthey is one of Britain's most significant industrial names, tracing its history back to 1817.

A spokesman for Johnson Matthey, which has seen its shares slump by nearly a quarter over the last year, declined to comment on Wednesday..