Koch Industries is paying $4.4bn for the former DuPont Textiles and Interiors business

Koch Industries is paying $4.4bn for the former DuPont Textiles and Interiors business

DuPont is to sell its Invista business, formerly DuPont Textiles and Interiors, to Koch Industries for $4.4bn (E3.7bn) in cash. The deal is to be completed during the first half of next year, assuming it wins regulatory approval.

Invista includes many of the best-known names in the DuPont fibres portfolio, notably the nylon fibres invented by the company in the 1930s, Lycra elastic fibre and Stainmaster carpet materials. The deal does not cover DuPont’s nylon engineering polymers, although feedstock for the materials will be owned by Koch in future.

DuPont’s 50% holding in the DuPontSA PET joint venture with Turkey’s Sabanci is excluded from the deal. DuPont has said it will consider its options for this business in the early part of next year. DuPont chief executive and chairman Chad Holliday called the sale “a major milestone in the ongoing transformation of DuPont”. The group will shortly outline actions “to ensure competitiveness in global markets and achieve its growth objectives”.

Koch Industries chairman and chief executive Charles Koch said combining Invista’s brands, primarily in Spandex and nylon, with the polyester business of its KoSa subsidiaries, “will create a diverse company well positioned to compete in the global fibres and resins markets”.