DuPont has agreed to sell its car paint business DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC) to private equity firm Carlyle Group for $4.9bn.

DPC manufactures and supplies coating systems primarily for the transportation industry covering automobile, aviation as well as marine sectors.

The company operates manufacturing sites on six continents, serving customers in 120 countries directly via 4,000 distributors.

DPC's sales are expected to exceed $4bn in 2012 and the company has more than 11,000 employees.

Upon completion of the transaction, DuPont will generate over $3bn in sales of advanced materials to the auto industry.

As part of the transaction, Carlyle will assume $250m of DuPont's unfunded pension liabilities.

The transaction is scheduled to be closed in the first quarter 2013, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Carlyle managing director and head of the industrial and transportation team Greg Ledford said, "Through targeted investments we will support DPC's product development and growth objectives as it transitions to a stand-alone company."