A WORLDWIDE chemical giant has agreed to buy a Morecambe based company for £14.15 million.

Johnson Matthey has announced that it will buy Lancaster Synthesis Ltd from speciality chemicals group Clariant AG.

Lancaster Synthesis employs 225 people worldwide and had sales of £19.6 million in 2003.

It sells a wide range of organic chemicals, mainly to industrial and academic research institutions.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval, but Chris Clark, chief executive of Johnson Matthey, describes Lancaster Synthesis as an excellent fit' with the group's existing chemical research business.

"The acquisition will allow the enlarged organisation to offer a greatly enhanced range of products and services to customers of both organisations," he says.