Celanese Divests PBI Business

    Business Editors

    DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2005--Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) today announced that it has sold the polybenzimidazole fiber and polymer business (PBI) to PBI Performance Products, Inc., an affiliate of The InterTech Group of North Charleston, SC, USA. The InterTech Group is a holding company and operator of a diverse, global group of companies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
    The divestiture of PBI is in line with the strategy of Celanese to continuously focus on its core chemicals and technical polymers businesses.
    PBI is a heat and flame resistant fiber and polymer used in a multitude of high-temperature applications.
    Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) is an integrated global producer of value-added industrial chemicals based in Dallas, Texas. The Company holds #1 or #2 market positions in products comprising the majority of its sales and has four major businesses: Chemicals Products, Technical Polymers Ticona, Acetate Products and Performance Products. Celanese has 29 production plants, with major operations in North America, Europe and Asia. In 2004, Celanese Corporation and its predecessor had combined net sales of $5.1 billion. The presentation of combined net sales of Celanese Corporation with its predecessor is not in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For more information on Celanese Corporation including a reconciliation of the combined net sales, please visit the company's web site at www.celanese.com.

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CONTACT: Celanese Corporation Jeanne Cullers, 972-443-4824 Telefax: 972-443-8519 Email: JECullers@celanese.com or Michael Kraft, +49 69 30514072 Telefax: +49 69305 36787 Email: M.Kraft@celanese.com or Investors: Andrea Stine, 908-901-4504 Telefax: 908-901-4805 Email: A.Stine@celanese.com

KEYWORD: NORTH CAROLINA TEXAS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CHEMICALS/PLASTICS SOURCE: Celanese Corporation

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