Mallinckrodt Inc. was sold for $675 million.

The company, which employs about 1,800 workers in the St. Louis area, was sold by Avon Products to International Minerals & Chemical Corp. of Northbrook, Ill. Avon, which purchased Mallinckrodt in 1982 for $712 million, will take a $100-million loss on the sale, a spokesman said, mostly in an accounting loss and the payment of capital gains tax. Mallinckrodt is a chemical and medical products company with about 5,000 employees worldwide.