Avient to buy DSM’s protective materials business

Avon Lake, Ohio-based material supplier Avient Corp. has announced plans to buy Royal DSM’s protective materials business, which includes Dyneema-brand polyethylene fiber, for nearly US$1.5 billion.

DSM officials said the sale follows a strategic review that began in September 2021.

“For 10 years, we have been building our advanced composites platform by focusing on high-performance materials for applications where failure is not an option,” Avient chairman, president and CEO Robert M. Patterson said in an April 20 news release. “The addition of the Dyneema portfolio will raise Avient’s material offerings to the highest levels on the performance spectrum of composites and engineered fibers.”

The ultra-lightweight specialty fiber is said to be 15 times stronger than steel, and is used in demanding applications such as ballistic personal protection, marine and sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, industrial protection, and outdoor sports.

The sale is expected to close in the second half of this year.

In conjunction with this proposed acquisition, Avient has also announced that it plans to explore sale options for its Avient distribution business. “This would allow Avient to remain modestly levered at 2.9x adjusted EBITDA while also expanding adjusted EBITDA margins from 12 per cent to 18 per cent, the highest amongst our formulator peers,” Patterson said.