Rohm & Haas to Buy Salt Maker Morton

Chemical manufacturing giant Rohm & Haas Co. has agreed to buy salt and chemical giant Morton International Inc. for $4.6 billion in cash and stock. The transaction would form the world’s No. 2 maker of specialty chemicals with annual revenue of $6.5 billion. About 1,150 jobs will be cut after the companies combine, contributing to annual cost savings of about $200 million, said J. Lawrence Wilson, chief executive of Rohm & Haas. The two companies together employ about 23,000 people. Philadelphia-based Rohm & Haas will also assume $268 million of Morton’s debt. Chicago-based Morton, which makes chemicals used in adhesives, electronics and other products, is perhaps best known for its salt, packaged in cartons with drawings of the Morton Salt umbrella girl. The deal is the latest in a series of recent acquisitions by Rohm & Haas, whose chemicals are used in products ranging from shampoo to computer equipment. On the NYSE, Morton’s shares jumped $9.75 to close at $35.63; Rohm & Haas rose 75 cents to close at $31.75.