A chemicals plant at the edge of North Lawrence is getting a new owner.

Solutia Inc. and FMC Corp. have agreed to sell their Astaris LLC joint venture to Israel Chemicals Ltd. for $255 million.

The deal now awaits approval from antitrust regulators and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which is overseeing Solutia’s Chapter 11 reorganization.

The sale is expected to close by the end of the year, said Stacey Castiglia, an Astaris spokeswoman.

St. Louis-based Astaris has five plants in the United States and Brazil. The Lawrence operation, at 440 N. Ninth St., opened in 1951 and today has 160 employees.

“The plan is that all staff and operations will remain in place,” Castiglia said. “One of Astaris’ major strengths is its experienced and dedicated employees. ICL recognizes the importance of the employee base to its continued growth and has agreed to offer jobs to all current Astaris employees.”

The Lawrence plant makes:

l Phosphates, which are added to toothpaste, french fries, shampoo and other products.

The Astaris plant in north Lawrence is one of several plants being sold in a 55 million deal with Israel Chemicals Ltd. Solutia Inc. and FMC Corp. have agreed to sell their Astaris LLC joint venture to ICL, which has agreed to offer jobs to all current Astaris employees. The sale is expected to close by year's end.

l Phosphoric acid, which puts the zing in sodas and is used in the etching of semiconductors and flat-panel displays for electronics, including computer monitors, televisions, wireless phones and PDAs.

Officials with Tel Aviv-based Israel Chemicals Ltd., or ICL, say the acquisition will be a “strategic fit” that will allow the company to expand its market reach and generate combined sales of $1 billion.

ICL plans to add Astaris to its Performance Products segment, which already produces phosphoric acid and phosphate salts for food and technical grade applications in Europe and the Far East.

The addition of Astaris and its 570 employees “significantly strengthens” the segment’s geographic reach into North and South America, ICL said, and will turn the company into a “world leader in specialty phosphates.”

ICL already counts dozens of “downstream” uses for the segment’s products, including additives for meats and cheeses, chemicals for water treatment and for the paper industry, thermoplastics for the shoe industry, active ingredients for antacids and antiperspirants, synthetic gypsum and food hygiene products.

• 6News video: Astaris plant being sold for $255 million (09-08-05)

The Astaris acquisition has been in the works for months, and, by early August, Solutia and FMC had entered exclusive negotiations with ICL. The deal was being brokered as another chemical operation adjacent to Astaris’ Lawrence plant, Peak Chemical, was sold to Canada-based Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund for $21.75 million.