DALLAS & FRANKFURT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global chemical and specialty materials company, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., to sell an additional 19% of the Nutrinova food ingredients business to Mitsui in a transaction with total cash proceeds of approximately $152 million.The transaction represents an attractive realization of value for Celanese, monetizing an ownership interest that represented approximately $4 million of equity earnings in 2025.This transaction contributes to Celanese’s deleveraging plans, while also allowing the Company to retain an 11% interest in the JV, enabling it to continue participating in a leading food ingredients business.The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
“We are pleased to have monetized an additional 19% of the Nutrinova joint venture and taken another step towards our goal of achieving $1 billion in divestiture proceeds by the end of 2027. Transaction proceeds will immediately work to reduce our net debt as part of our deleveraging plan, and we intend to use them to pay down upcoming debt maturities,” said Scott Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer.
In connection with this transaction, Celanese has agreed to own and operate a diketene production facility for a transitional period before being transferred to Nutrinova. This facility is co-located with, and supplies raw materials to, the Nutrinova facility in the Industriepark Höchst in Frankfurt, Germany, a chemical park where several critical Celanese manufacturing assets are situated. Nutrinova is partnering with Celanese based on its extensive experience operating complex chemical manufacturing assets. In addition to the approximately $152 million received in connection with the sale of the JV interests, Nutrinova is providing Celanese with the entirety of the production facility’s purchase price as well as all future cash required to cover the unit’s ongoing operating costs. Celanese is not obligated to provide any funding in connection with this unit, but will contribute the expertise of its process chemists, operators and maintenance professionals to safely and reliably operate the asset.
“The Nutrinova business has historically sourced these key inputs from external producers. When the opportunity arose to bring this production in-house, we were glad to be able to build upon our long-term strategic partnership with Mitsui and enable Nutrinova to achieve meaningful security of supply,” said Mr. Richardson. “We will continue to look for ways to strengthen our strategic partnerships while aggressively looking for opportunities to prudently deleverage the balance sheet.”
Celanese is advised in this transaction by Linklaters, LLP as legal counsel and A&O Shearman as tax counsel. This transaction is subject to customary legal and regulatory closing conditions.
About Nutrinova
Nutrinova business is the original inventor and only western producer of the zero-calorie, high-intensity sweetener Sunett® acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) sweetener as well as a leading producer of sorbic acid and potassium sorbate preservatives.
About Celanese
Celanese is a global leader in chemistry, producing specialty material solutions used across most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use our chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees and shareholders. We support sustainability by responsibly managing the materials we create and growing our portfolio of sustainable products to meet customer and societal demand. We strive to make a positive impact in our communities and to foster inclusivity across our teams. Celanese Corporation is a Fortune 500 company that employs more than 11,000 employees worldwide with 2025 net sales of $9.5 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain “forward-looking statements,” which include information concerning Celanese’s plans, objectives, goals, strategies, financial condition, and other information that is not historical information. When used in this release, the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “will,” and variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs and various assumptions. There can be no assurance that Celanese will realize these expectations or that these beliefs will prove correct. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Numerous factors, many of which are beyond Celanese’s control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed as forward-looking statements. These factors include those that are discussed in Celanese’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Celanese undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.
A joint venture is when two or more companies team up to work on a specific project or business idea, sharing both the risks and the rewards. It’s like friends starting a lemonade stand together—each contributes resources and they split the profits, making it easier to succeed than going alone.
equity earningsfinancial
Equity earnings are the portion of profit or loss a company records from businesses it partly owns rather than fully controls, similar to getting a slice of a larger pie when you own a share of a restaurant. Investors watch equity earnings because they show how those shared investments contribute to overall profit, can swing reported results without cash changing hands, and help assess the value and risks of a company’s ownership stakes.
deleveragingfinancial
Deleveraging is the process of a company reducing the amount of debt it carries relative to its assets or equity, either by paying down loans, selling assets, or raising fresh equity. For investors it matters because lower debt typically means less financial risk and steadier cash flow—like removing weight from a backpack to make a hike safer and easier—while it can also slow growth if borrowing had been funding expansion.
net debtfinancial
Net debt is the total amount a company owes after subtracting the cash and assets it has that can be used to pay off that debt. It shows how much debt is truly a burden, helping investors understand if a company is financially healthy or heavily borrowed. Think of it like calculating how much money you owe after using your savings to pay part of it.
Diketene is a small, highly reactive industrial chemical used as a building block to make other products such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, dyes, and specialty resins. Think of it as a versatile Lego piece chemists attach to molecules to change their properties; its reactivity and handling requirements make it important for manufacturers, regulators, and investors to track because production, safety rules, and supply disruptions can affect costs and business operations in related industries.
