The Carlyle Group is buying DuPont's performance coatings business for $4.9 billion in cash, giving it another investment in the automotive and industrial segments.
The private equity firm will also take on $250 million of DuPont's unfunded pension liabilities under the deal disclosed Thursday.
The performance coatings business of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. caters to the automotive and industrial coatings sectors. The business is expected to have 2012 sales of more than $4 billion. It has more than 11,000 workers.
Carlyle's investments in the automotive and industrial segments already include Allison Transmission, PQ Corp. and Hertz.
DuPont chairwoman and CEO Ellen Kullman said in a statement that the transaction is consistent with its long-term strategy of "driving competitive advantages in agriculture and nutrition, advanced materials and biotechnology, which represent high-growth, high-margin opportunities."
