Chinese firm buys nylon precursor unit

China’s Highsun Holdings Group has agreed to buy most of Fibrant, a joint venture between DSM and CVC Capital Partners that makes caprolactam, the raw material for nylon 6. When the deal is completed, Highsun, a vertically integrated maker of synthetic fibers and textiles, will own Fibrant’s caprolactam plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, and 60% of its plant in Nanjing, China. DSM says it will receive about $235 million from the deal. A Fibrant caprolactam plant recently shut down in Augusta, Ga., is not included in the deal. Terms call for Highsun to continue supplying DSM with 80% of the nylon 6 raw material it needs for its performance materials business. DSM spun off Fibrant in 2015 along with acrylonitrile and composite resin businesses in a deal with CVC that netted $370 million for DSM. At the time, DSM said it wanted to focus on its nutritional ingredients and performance materials businesses. CVC and DSM retain the resin and acrylonitrile businesses.