The Carlyle Group has completed its acquisition of DuPont Performance Coatings, a supplier of coatings to the transportation and industrial sectors, for $4.9 billion and has renamed the acquired business Axalta Coating Systems. Axalta Coating Systems will continue to do business as DuPont Performance Coatings for the next several months until the new name is formally launched in the second quarter of 2013.
Axalta Coating Systems develops, manufactures and sells coatings and application tools to automobile repair body shops and original equipment manufacturers in the automotive and heavy-duty truck markets. Brands include Standox®, Spies Hecker®, Cromax® and Imron®. Axalta Coating Systems also serves the decorative, architectural, general industrial and job-coater segments of the powder coatings market under the brands Alesta® Powder Coatings, NAP-GARD® FBE Powder Coatings and ABCITE® Powder Coatings. The company serves more than 120,000 customers in 130 countries. Axalta Coating Systems’ beta website www.AxaltaCoatingSystems.com is under development.
“In addition to driving performance and excellence, one of our greatest strengths is the systems-based approach we take with our customers,” said John McCool, President of Axalta Coating Systems. “Along with coatings, we provide customers a full spectrum of tools and services to help them use our products effectively. We offer customers hands-on opportunities to learn how to use these products and applications tools in our 42 training centers throughout the world. This capability helps our customers improve their performance and productivity while allowing us to enhance our offerings by gaining a better understanding of customer preferences.”
The Carlyle Group invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America focusing on aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services and telecommunications & media. The Carlyle Group employs 1,300 people in 32 offices across six continents and is based in Washington, DC (www.carlyle.com).
The investment in Axalta Coating Systems was funded primarily with equity from Carlyle Partners V and Carlyle Europe Partners III.
“We are excited to invest in Axalta Coating Systems and believe its strong market position and global footprint will enable the company to capitalize on opportunities in rapidly emerging markets such as China and Brazil. As experienced investors in the industrial and transportation sectors, the One Carlyle global network can help Axalta Coating Systems grow and create value,” said Martin Sumner, Principal of The Carlyle Group.
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-4-13
