Chemicals firm Clariant has agreed to sell its pigments business to Heubach Group and SK Capital Partners in a deal which values the company at $951m.

Clariant this morning said it would reinvest to become a 20 per cent shareholder in the business, which employs 3,000 people and has annual sales of around $1.09bn.

The sale, which is expected to be completed next year, is the final stage in the divestment and repositioning programme announced by Swiss-based Clariant in July 2018.

Following the announcement, shares in Clariant dropped by more than one per cent as markets opened.

The company has already divested its healthcare packaging and masterbatches business as it looks to raise profit margins and grow faster than its markets.

“Now our focus can fully be on growing revenue and profitability of our core business areas: Care Chemicals, Catalysis and Natural Resources,” said Conrad Keijzer, chief executive of Clariant.

In addition funding the reinvestment, proceeds will go into strengthening the firm’s balance sheet and boosting organic growth.