CLEVELAND -- Ferro Corp. announced a definitive agreement to sell its Specialty Ceramics business, a manufacturer of ceramic grinding media, kiln furniture, wear tile, and structural ceramics, to the investment group CerCo L.L.C. Financial terms were not disclosed. The agreement follows Ferro's recent announcement that it plans to divest several small non-core businesses.

Ferro said the Specialty Ceramics business's sales in 2002 were approximately $40 million. The business's market segments range from tableware and pottery to power generation and transmission. Included in the sale are two U.S. manufacturing operations and one manufacturing site in Europe.

Ferro said the sale reflect the company's continued program to "reposition and improve the growth profile" of its business portfolio.