Celanese Nears $11 Billion DuPont Materials Unit Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Celanese Corp. is nearing a deal to buy DuPont de Nemours Inc.’s mobility and materials arm in an agreement that could be announced as soon as Friday, according to people familiar with the matter.

The transaction would be valued at $11 billion, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are private. The transaction hasn’t been finalized and talks could still be delayed or fall apart, the people said.

The unit had attracted interest from private equity firms including Apollo Global Management Inc. and Carlyle Group Inc., Bloomberg previously reported.

Representatives for DuPont and Celanese couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. 

Dupont shares fell 2.9% Thursday to close at $79.73, valuing the company at about $41 billion. Celanese fell 2% to $152.93, giving it a market valuation of $16.5 billion. After the close of regular trading, Celanese rose 3.3%.

An $11 billion transaction would rank as one of the five biggest year-to-date and the largest chemicals deal since 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It would also be Celanese’s biggest acquisition by far, the data show.

When DuPont agreed in November to pay about $5.2 billion for Rogers Corp., it announced plans to sell most of the mobility and materials unit, which makes polymers and resins for vehicles and other uses under the Zytel and Delrin brands. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising on the sale, Bloomberg News reported in December. 

DuPont Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen, a serial dealmaker, has transformed the company into a business focused on electronics, automotive and water and industrial technologies. He led the 2017 tie-up of DuPont and Dow Chemical Co., the largest-ever chemicals industry merger at the time, and the subsequent breakup that formed three standalone companies.

Irving, Texas-based Celanese makes chemicals and other products for use in everything from cigarette filters to paints. Its origins date back more than a century to 1912, when it built products for the film industry and paints for German airplanes and zeppelins. The company was later taken over by German chemicals maker Hoechst AG, before being spun off in 1999.

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