Australian explosives maker Orica Ltd said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell its chemicals business to funds advised by U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group LP for A$750 million ($653 million).Orica also reported a 2 percent increase in full-year statutory net profit to A$602.5 million, from A$592.5 million, and said that volatility and uncertainty in global resources markets made it difficult to provide guidance for the full year ahead."However, the company does not expect a significant improvement in the resources market, reinforcing the requirement for the company to achieve its transformation objectives," Orica said in a statement.Orica said in August that it had decided to sell or spin off its chemicals business, realising a long-held plan to become solely a mining business.
The Blackstone Group L.P. (Blackstone) is a manager of private capital and provider of financial advisory services. Shares of BX traded higher by 1.84% or $0.59/share to $32.61. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $26.15 and as high as $36.08. On average, 4766620 shares of BX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 8426236.
Source
