Teijin Sells Polyester Film Assets to Toyobo

Japan’s Teijin has agreed to sell its polyester film businesses in Japan and Indonesia to compatriot group Toyobo.

The company signed an agreement on May 22, and the share transfer is expected to complete on Oct. 1 2019. The transfer price will be around 10 billion yen ($90 million), although the exact amount will be determined after the transfer date.

The businesses – Teijin Film Solutions (TFS) in Japan and PT Indonesia Teijin Film Solutions (ITFS) in Indonesia – were previously run as a joint venture with DuPont. Teijin acquired DuPont’s interests in 2016 with the aim of improving operational flexibility and speed up decision making.

Teijin said it has subsequently strengthened profitability to “a certain level” but decided to sell the subsidiaries so they could optimize their future growth potential.

Toyobo, which regards films and coating products as important growth areas, said the acquisition of TFS and ITFS will strengthen its ability to develop and manufacture high-performance films. Specifically, TFS’s development and production technologies along with a broad portfolio of products will solidify its films business while ITFS will boost its overseas production capability and help to develop the business into a global operation.

TFS and ITFS make various types of release films for industrial use, such as those in multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), which are seeing increased demand in electronics for automotive applications, and high-quality packaging films for can lamination. In addition, the companies provide high-performance polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) films, including insulating films, for cars and those used in flexible printed circuits.