DuPont Sells Invista Group
Invista Inc., DuPont’s recently renamed textiles and interiors division, has a new home.
The Wilmington, Del.–based chemical and fiber maker sold Invista, which includes the Lycra and Tactel brands, to Wichita, Kan.–based Koch Industries Inc. for $4.4 billion in cash.
Koch will fold its KoSa polyester business into the Invista division, which, in addition to Lycra and Tactel, also includes Coolmax, Antron, Supplex, Thermolite, Cordura and Stainmaster. Invista will operate as an independent subsidiary of Koch. The companies expect to finalize the deal in early 2004.
DuPont had announced earlier this year that it was looking to sell off the Invista division. The company has been in negotiations with Koch for some time.
Koch is a 63-year-old privately held company with dealings in petroleum, chemicals, plastics, fibers, fertilizers and finance. The company’s Houston-based fiber division, KoSa, was formed in 1998 as a joint venture with IMASAB S.A. de C.V., a Mexico City–based company owned by Isaac Saba. Together, the two companies purchased the majority of Hoechst’s polyester fibers and resins business.
KoSa produces commodity and specialty polyester products—including textile fibers, polymers and resin—for the apparel, home furnishings and automotive markets.
Details of the sale and the changes that could occur at Koch and Invista are still being hammered out, according to Invista Public Relations Manager Linda R. Morin, who added that the company will be looking for ways to “leverage the strengths of the company for both the branded and commodity markets.”
Morin said that immediately after the announcement of the sale, Invista President and Chief Executive Steve McCracken traveled to Wichita to meet with executives at Koch. —Alison A. Nieder
