Performance Fibers Buys Out Chinese JV Partner

Performance Fibers today announced that its Asian subsidiary has signed an agreement that will give it full ownership of the company’s operations in Kaiping, China. The subsidiary, Performance Fibers Asia, LLC (PFA), has signed an agreement with Guangdong Kaiping Chunhui Co Ltd (Chunhui) to acquire Chunhui’s 30 per cent equity share in Performance Fibers Kaiping Company Limited (PFK).

PFK is a joint venture owned by PFA (70 per cent) and Chunhui. Chunhui acquired the 30 per cent equity share earlier this year from Guangdong Kaiping Polyester Enterprise Group (KPE), which had been the minority JV partner since 1996. PFA will become the 100 per cent owner of PFK after the transaction is completed in December 2005.

“This acquisition, coupled with the recently announced expansion in our PFK operations and the purchase of Diolen’s North American fibre and fabric conversion operations, demonstrates Performance Fibers’ world-wide commitment to meeting our customers’ needs and strengthening our position in the industrial fibres industry,” said Greg Rogowski, president and CEO of Performance Fibers. Performance Fibers and Performance Fibers Asia are affiliates of Sun Capital Partners, Inc.