GDANSK, July 25 (Reuters) - Germany's Merck KGaA

agreed to sell its pigments unit to China's Global New

Material International (GNMI) for 665 million euros

($721.46 million), the German diversified group said on

Thursday.

Merck intends to use the proceeds from the deal to further

strengthen its strategic core business and to boost materials

for chip production in particular, the German group's CEO Belen

Garijo said in a statement.

The deal, which is due to close in 2025, guarantees job

security for employees in Germany as well as maintains the plant

in Gernsheim until 2032.

The business, known as Surface Solutions, makes pigments for

a pearlescent or metallic shine in coatings, plastics and

cosmetics, whose value was earlier estimated at about 1 billion

euros ($1.03 billion), Reuters reported citing sources in

November 2022.

($1 = 0.9217 euros)