Celanese Corporation Updates Capital Structure, Extends Debt Maturity Profile
Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) (the “Company” or “Celanese”), a global leader in chemicals and specialty materials, today announced the successful completion of strategic financial transactions aimed at extending its debt maturity profile. These steps are part of the Company’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its balance sheet, optimize liquidity, and support long-term financial flexibility.
Recent Debt Offerings
On December 17, 2025, Celanese US Holdings LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Issuer”), completed a registered offering (the “Offering”) of $1.4 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior notes. The Offering included:
- $600 million aggregate principal amount of 7.000% Senior Notes due 2031, and
- $800 million aggregate principal amount of 7.375% Senior Notes due 2034.
The net proceeds from the Offering, in combination with available cash on hand, were utilized to execute a series of refinancing transactions to reduce near-term debt obligations and optimize the Company’s overall capital structure.
Refinancing Transactions
The proceeds from the Offering were applied, in part, to repurchase existing debt, repay term loans, and cover related transaction fees and expenses. Specifically, the refinancing activities included:
- Repurchase of Outstanding Senior Notes Due 2027
- $946 million aggregate principal amount of the Issuer’s 6.665% Senior Notes due 2027 were purchased pursuant to a previously announced cash tender offer.
- Repurchase of Outstanding Senior Notes Due 2028
- $254 million aggregate principal amount of the Issuer’s 6.850% Senior Notes due 2028 were repurchased through a previously announced cash tender offer.
- Repayment of Term Loan
- The remaining $130 million of outstanding borrowings under the Company’s five-year term loan credit agreement, originally due in 2027, was repaid in full.
Collectively, these actions—referred to as the “Refinancing Transactions”—allow Celanese to reduce near-term debt maturities, lower refinancing risk, and strengthen liquidity for strategic initiatives.
Extended Debt Maturity Profile
Following the completion of the Refinancing Transactions, Celanese expects the average maturity of its debt to extend from 4.1 years to 4.7 years. This extension represents a meaningful improvement in the Company’s financial flexibility, allowing it to better align debt obligations with anticipated cash flow generation.
Additionally, the total value of combined 2026 to 2028 debt maturities is expected to decline from $4.7 billion to $3.4 billion, reflecting a reduction of over $1.3 billion in near-term obligations. By shifting debt maturities further into the future, the Company mitigates refinancing risks while maintaining a conservative and balanced capital structure.
Effective Borrowing Costs
Inclusive of the Refinancing Transactions, Celanese projects that its effective total net borrowing rate will be approximately 5.31%, representing an increase of only 2 basis points compared to prior levels. This modest change reflects favorable market conditions and the Company’s disciplined approach to managing its cost of capital.
Strategic Financial Rationale
Chuck Kyrish, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Celanese, commented on the transactions:
As a result of the Refinancing Transactions, we have aligned our debt maturities over the next few years to a conservative outlook for free cash flow generation and divestiture proceeds. We continue to prioritize cash generation and EBITDA growth and deploy all available cash proceeds to pay down debt and progress towards our targeted net debt to Operating EBITDA metric of 3x. We will continue to be opportunistic in managing our debt maturity profile and borrowing costs in the future.
The refinancing strategy reflects Celanese’s commitment to maintaining a strong balance sheet while providing flexibility to invest in strategic growth opportunities. By extending the maturity profile and reducing near-term debt, the Company positions itself to respond to market dynamics and capitalize on potential acquisitions or operational initiatives.
Financial Discipline and Capital Allocation
The completion of these transactions highlights Celanese’s disciplined approach to capital allocation. The Company continues to emphasize:
- Debt reduction: Paying down existing obligations to strengthen the balance sheet.
- Liquidity management: Ensuring sufficient cash and credit availability for operations and strategic investments.
- Cost optimization: Maintaining favorable borrowing costs while extending maturities.
- Strategic flexibility: Aligning debt maturities with projected cash flows and divestiture proceeds.
These principles support Celanese’s broader financial strategy and provide the foundation for sustainable growth while maintaining financial stability in varying market conditions.
With the refinanced capital structure in place, Celanese expects to maintain its focus on:
- EBITDA Growth
- Driving earnings through operational efficiency, strategic initiatives, and continued product innovation.
- Net Debt Reduction
- Progressing toward the targeted net debt to Operating EBITDA metric of 3x, reinforcing financial discipline and shareholder value creation.
- Opportunistic Debt Management
- Evaluating market conditions to optimize borrowing costs and maturity profiles further, ensuring ongoing flexibility and financial resilience.
By managing both the timing and cost of debt, the Company is better positioned to support strategic priorities, including investments in high-growth markets, expansion of specialty product lines, and potential acquisitions.
Important Information
This press release does not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell the Issuer’s outstanding 6.665% Senior Notes due 2027 or 6.850% Senior Notes due 2028. All transactions described herein were completed in accordance with applicable securities laws and with the guidance of the Company’s financial advisors.
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