A German chemical company with a long tradition is getting a new owner from China. The insolvent Perlon Group is being acquired by Wuxi Yinda Nylon, a family-run Chinese company from the chemical sector. The sale secures a large share of jobs, but it also shows how much pressure Germany’s chemical industry is under.
The insolvent Perlon Group is being taken over by a Chinese investor. According to the restructuring law firm SGP Schneider Geiwitz, Wuxi Yinda Nylon is acquiring the long-established chemical company with sites in Germany, Poland and China. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Perlon specializes in synthetic filaments and plastic fibers. Its products are used in paper machines, brushes, medical applications and other industrial areas. The company describes itself as a world market leader in its segment. In Germany, Perlon operates 3 sites: Bobingen near Augsburg, Munderkingen in Baden-Württemberg and Wald-Michelbach in Hesse.
Of around 510 jobs in total, approximately 450 are expected to be preserved. For now, the takeover is therefore above all a rescue solution. Without a new investor, the company would likely have faced far more severe cuts following the insolvency proceedings.
Restructuring instead of breakup
The Perlon Group ran into financial difficulties in 2025. In October, insolvency proceedings under self-administration were opened. The company had been hit by weaker demand, sharply higher energy and wage costs, and increasingly tough international competition.
The previous owner was the Munich-based Serafin Group. As part of the restructuring process, an international investor search was launched, in which Wuxi Yinda Nylon prevailed over other interested parties. According to those involved, the German sites are to continue operating.
For employees, this is initially good news. The brand will remain, a large share of jobs will be secured, and the company will get a new owner from within its own industry. That is not a given in industrial insolvency cases. Investors are often mainly interested in individual assets, patents or customer relationships. In Perlon’s case, however, the industrial structure is largely to be preserved.
China buys during a phase of weakness
Still, the takeover is more than just a single company story. It comes at a time when Germany’s chemical industry as a whole is under massive pressure. High energy prices, weak demand, international competition and difficult location conditions have been weighing on the sector for years.
China plays a dual role in this. On the one hand, the country is an important sales market and production location for many German companies. On the other, competitive pressure from Chinese providers is increasing, with companies acting aggressively on price and strategy in many industrial sectors.
The fact that a Chinese buyer is now taking over a German chemical company out of insolvency fits into this broader picture. It shows that German industrial companies in periods of weakness are becoming increasingly attractive to foreign investors. For the affected sites, this can mean rescue. From an industrial policy perspective, however, it remains sensitive.
A rescue with an aftertaste
The key question is therefore not only whether Perlon can continue operating. The more important question is why a German specialist ended up in a position where it had to rely on a buyer from China at all.
Perlon is not a mass-market provider, but an industrial specialist with long-established expertise. Exactly this kind of company has traditionally been considered one of the strengths of Germany’s Mittelstand. But if such companies can no longer remain competitive because of energy prices, cost structures and international pressure, this becomes a location problem.
The takeover by Wuxi Yinda Nylon is therefore both things at once: positive rescue news for hundreds of employees and a warning signal for German industrial policy. It shows that know-how and market position alone are not enough if the economic framework no longer holds.
For Perlon, a new chapter now begins under Chinese ownership. Whether this leads to long-term stability will depend on whether the new investor truly develops the German sites further – rather than merely managing existing structures.
SK
