FMC sells soda ash stake to Japan as EU readies dumping duties. (European Union)

FMC Corp. has sold a minority interest in its soda ash business, FMC Wyoming Corp., to Japan's Nippon Sheet Glass and Sumitomo Corp. for $150 million. The deal, which will give FMC desired access to the Asian market, comes as the European Union (EU) is set to slap a 16.7% antidumping duty on FMC's exports to Europe, eliminating the option to export soda ash into that market (CW, Jan. 25, p. 9).

The two Japanese companies are also investing in FMC's previously announced $135-million solution mining project at Green River, WY, which is planned to increase capacity by 700,000 tons/year by 1997, raising FMC Wyoming's total soda ash capacity to 3.55 million tons/year …