DuPont to Buy Hoechst’s Coatings Unit

DuPont Co. said it will buy the Herberts coatings unit of Germany’s Hoechst for $1.89 billion in cash in a deal that would make it the world’s largest automotive paints supplier. The deal comes less than two weeks after the collapse of Hoechst’s planned $1.85-billion sale of the unit to buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. The transaction is considered important for both DuPont and Hoechst, which are in the midst of restructuring to focus on areas such as life sciences--a catch-all phrase that includes pharmaceuticals to genetically engineered crops. DuPont’s acquisition of Herberts would form a coatings business with worldwide sales of $3.7 billion, about 8% of DuPont’s annual revenue of $45 billion. Shares of Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont rose 6 cents to close at $56.94 on the New York Stock Exchange.