Ethyl Completes Deal to Acquire Nelson Research

Ethyl Corp. said it completed its previously announced agreement to acquire Irvine-based Nelson Research & Development Co. for $53 million.

The merger makes Nelson, a drug developer, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ethyl, a Richmond, Va., chemical and petroleum products maker.

A spokesman for the East Coast firm said that all Nelson Research employees would be retained and that operations will continue in Irvine.