Carlyle Group buys DuPont coatings division for $4.9 billion

WILMINGTON, Del. & WASHINGTON—Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has acquired DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC) for $4.9 billion in cash.

Carlyle will also assume $250 million of DuPont’s unfunded pension liabilities.

Parent company DuPont says the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter 2013, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

DPC is a global supplier of vehicle and industrial coating systems with 2012 expected sales of more than $4 billion and more than 11,000 employees. The investment will be funded with equity from Carlyle Partners V and Carlyle Europe Partners III.

“After a careful review, however, we have determined that DPC’s full growth potential would be best realized outside DuPont and through the sale to Carlyle,” said DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman. “This transaction is consistent with our vision to be the world’s most dynamic science company and long-term strategy of driving competitive advantages in agriculture and nutrition, advanced materials and biotechnology, which represent high-growth, high-margin opportunities.”

“DuPont Performance Coatings is a successful business with attractive market positions, next-generation technology and established brands,” says Greg Ledford, managing director and head of the Industrial and Transportation team at Carlyle. “Through targeted investments we will support DPC’s product development and growth objectives as it transitions to a stand-alone company.”

Kullman stressed that DuPont remains committed to serving the automotive industry, noting that following the closing of this transaction, DuPont will generate more than $3 billion in sales of advanced materials to the auto industry.

DuPont plans to eliminate “general corporate overhead costs” that were previously allocated to DPC but are not part of the transaction.