Asahi Kasei to Buy Polypore to Expand Battery Business

Asahi Kasei Corp., a Japanese chemicals and fiber maker, agreed to acquire Polypore International Inc. to expand its battery business and boost capacity overseas.

 

Asahi Kasei will pay $60.50 for each share of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Polypore, it said Monday in a statement. The offer is 14 percent more than the Friday closing price. Polypore rose 13 percent to $59.55 at 10:25 a.m. in New York.

Immediately prior to the completion of the deal, 3M Co. will buy Polypore’s media-separation segment, which makes membranes for kidney dialysis, for about $1 billion. That will leave Asahi Kasei with Polypore’s unit that makes microporous membranes for rechargeable batteries, for which the Japanese company said it’s paying a net $2.2 billion.

 

Polypore sells membranes to the world’s three largest carmakers, as well as Tesla Motors Inc. and Panasonic Corp., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

 

Asahi Kasei’s acquisition is the latest in a flurry in overseas investments by Japanese companies. Japan Post Holdings Co. agreed on Feb. 18 to pay A$6.49 billion ($5.1 billion) for Australia’s Toll Holdings Ltd. one day after Kintetsu World Express Inc. said it’s buying Neptune Orient Lines Ltd.’s logistics business for 144.2 billion yen ($1.21 billion).

 

Asahi Kasei plans to invest 1 trillion yen over five years to boost capacity and expand its battery and materials businesses in China, Thailand, South Korea and the U.S., according to a Monday presentation.