Jay Laprete/Bloomberg News

The private equity firm the Carlyle Group has agreed to buy DuPont Performance Coatings, a maker of automotive paints and related products, for $4.9 billion as it continues its drumbeat of acquisitions.

DuPont is selling its coatings business, one of its largest divisions, as it increases its focus on food, energy and protection materials. DuPont Performance Coatings manufactures paints for cars, trucks and appliances. It makes the bulk of its money, 43 percent, from sales to auto repair shops.

But the business, which has about 35 plants worldwide, is heavily exposed to the weak European economy. Europe, the Middle East and Africa account for 43 percent of its business, while North America accounts for 27 percent.

“DuPont Performance Coatings is a leader in the automotive and industrial coatings sectors, with world-class products and customer service,” DuPont’s chief executive, Ellen J. Kullman, said in a statement on Thursday. “After a careful review, however, we have determined that D.P.C.’s full growth potential would be best realized outside DuPont and through the sale to Carlyle.”

Fred Prouser/Reuters

The private equity firm said it had been attracted by the unit’s technology and brands, as well as its business in developing markets like China and Brazil. The group is expected to generate more than $4 billion in revenue this year.

Over the years, Carlyle has made several bets in the industrial and transportation markets, including ones on Allison Transmission and on Hertz Global Holdings, which it acquired in 2005 and took public in 2006. In July, Carlyle also joined with BC Partners to buy Hamilton Sundstrand from United Technologies for $3.46 billion.

Ms. Kullman said in the statement that DuPont would continue to work with the automotive industry and would generate more than $3 billion in sales of advanced materials to it.

Carlyle has made several deals this summer. This month, it bought Getty Images for $3.3 billion and the TCW Group for an undisclosed sum. Last month, it agreed to acquire a majority stake in Sunoco’s large Philadelphia refinery. Over the last year, Carlyle has outspent its peers by a significant margin, plowing nearly $20 billion into new investments.

The buyout of DuPont Performance Coatings will be financed by two of Carlyle’s funds, Carlyle Partners V and Carlyle Europe Partners III.

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

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.