DuPont to acquire Laird Performance Materials

DuPont has entered into a definitive agreement with Advent International, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, to acquire Laird Performance Materials for $2.3 billion, which will be paid from existing cash balances. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. 

Laird Performance Materials is a world leader in high-performance electromagnetic shielding and thermal management with a comprehensive offering of performance components and solutions that manage heat and protect devices from electromagnetic interference. Laird Performance Materials has a workforce of more than 4,300 employees with a global network of 11 manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and Asia and 2020 revenues of $465-million.

Shifting portfolio towards differentiated products

Laird Performance Materials has consistently delivered high single-digit growth rates and highly attractive gross and adjusted EBITDA margins (~50% and ~30%, respectively). With strong growth and a best-in-class financial profile, Laird Performance Materials is aligned with DuPont’s strategic objective of shifting its portfolio increasingly towards differentiated products in attractive markets with long-term secular growth trends.

“The acquisition of Laird Performance Materials is a significant step in advancing DuPont’s strategy to grow as a global innovation leader and premier multi-industrial company,” says Ed Breen, executive chairman and CEO of DuPont. “Laird Performance Materials is a strategic and complementary addition to the Electronics & Industrial (E&I) business, and our applied material science expertise together with Laird Performance Materials’ industry-leading application engineering capabilities further strengthens DuPont as an essential partner for major electronics OEMs and manufacturers.”

Films, laminates & plating chemistry

The transaction brings together DuPont’s technology portfolio in films, laminates, and plating chemistry with Laird Performance Materials’ electromagnetic shielding and thermal management solutions. With a best-in-class innovation and product portfolio, the combined organization will be a leader in rapidly growing advanced electronics applications supporting smart/autonomous vehicles, 5G telecommunications, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and high-performance computing.

Strong capabilities in material science and application engineering along with an expanded customer base are expected to significantly increase customer speed to market, create new efficiencies in development of multi-functional solutions, and provide high value next-generation products that will deliver incremental revenue synergies over the next several years. DuPont will be uniquely positioned to engage across value chains to address the increasingly complex challenges leading OEMs face in thermal management, signal integrity, miniaturization, power management, and reliability.