WILMINGTON, DE.- - DuPont announced the completion of its acquisition of Herberts GmbH, the coatings subsidiary of Hoechst AG, with management ceremonies in Wuppertal, Germany. Terms of the acquisition remained unchanged from the preliminary agreement last October, a stock purchase with payment at closing of approximately $1.9 billion USD (DM 3.1 billion).

The combined business, to be known as DuPont Performance Coatings, will have annual sales of more than $3.8 billion, making DuPont the world's largest supplier of automotive coatings and the third largest coatings company, overall. It is projected that the impact of this business acquisition on DuPont earnings per share will be essentially neutral for 1999, and will generate significant shareholder value thereafter.

"We are extremely pleased by the talent, complementary technology, market positions and regional customer service capabilities we've already seen in the Herberts organization," said Louis Savelli, who has been named president, DuPont Performance Coatings. "With such an excellent fit, we will create a significantly improved global business with strong growth and earnings potential," he said.

Executive management appointments will be balanced by region from both the DuPont and Herberts organizations, according to Savelli. He named a number of individuals to various leadership positions with the organizations.

Founded in 1802, DuPont is a global research and technology-based company. DuPont serves worldwide markets including food and nutrition, health care; agriculture, fashion and apparel; home and construction; electronics; and transportation. The company operates in more than 70 countries and has 92,000 employees.

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