DuPont Inc. said it plans to acquire engineering materials maker Rogers Corp. for about $5.2 billion, hoping to tap into the rapid growth of electric vehicles and advanced auto electronics.
The deal, announced Tuesday, also would boost DuPont's position in advanced materials for other key growth markets such as clean energy and 5G mobile phone service.
DuPont further disclosed plans to sell most of its Mobility and Materials unit, which makes polymers and resins for vehicles. Taken together, the deals will deepen the chemical maker's reach in fast-growing, higher-margin industrial and electronics markets and make its earnings more stable, the Wilmington, Del.-based company said.
"We are sharpening our focus on high-growth, high-value opportunities in sectors with steady long-term secular growth trends," DuPont CEO Ed Breen said in the statement. The company plans to further invest "organically and through strategic acquisitions to maximize our capabilities," he said.
The deals would add to Breen's reputation for deal-making, after he engineered the 2012 breakup of Tyco International and oversaw the 2000 sale of General Instrument. Rogers, based in Chandler, Ariz., develops advanced electronic materials.
DuPont expects that Mobility and Materials will generate $4.2 billion in sales this year. Marketing the operation could take as long as six months, with the sale expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of next year. Proceeds from the sale will be used to help fund the purchase of Rogers, it said.
Breen led the 2017 tie-up of DuPont and Dow Chemical Co. -- two key auto industry suppliers at the Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels -- and the subsequent breakup that formed a standalone DuPont, Dow Inc. and Corteva Inc.
This year, DuPont acquired Laird Performance Materials, which specializes in advanced electronic materials for autonomous vehicles, in a $2.3 billion deal.
The company on Tuesday also reported third-quarter results and cut its full-year forecast because of a slowdown in orders tied to the global semiconductor shortage.
