DuPont Announces Plans to Split into Three Public Companies, Names New CEO

Stock Price Jumps in After-Hours Trading

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Key Takeaways

• DuPont announced late Wednesday it will split into three publicly traded entities—focused on electronics, water and industrials, respectively—in an effort to better allocate capital.
• This isn't the first time DuPont has been a part of spinoffs, and the company becomes the latest conglomerate to deploy a similar strategy.
• DuPont also announced that Chief Financial Officer Lori Koch will replace Ed Breen as chief executive officer in June. Breen will stay on as executive chairman.
• Shares of the company jumped in after-hours trading.

DuPont (DD) said Wednesday it plans to split into three publicly traded companies, spinning off its electric and water businesses.

The DuPont name will continue on, focusing on industrials, while the water and electronics operations will become independent companies to focus more on their respective businesses. The company said this separation will allow the resulting companies to better allocate capital and pursue mergers and acquisition opportunities.

"At separation, each of the three companies will have strong balance sheets, attractive financial profiles and compelling growth opportunities," DuPont said in a press release. The company expects the separations to be completed in 18 to 24 months.

Management Changes Also Unveiled

The company also said its chief financial officer, Lori Koch will take over as chief executive in June, and as such will oversee the spinoffs. Koch replaces Ed Breen, will continue in the role of executive chairman.

DuPont shares rose more than 5% in extended trading following the announcements of the split and the management changes. Through the close of Wednesday's regular trading session, the stock was up about 2% so far in 2024, while the S&P 500 had gained 11%.

DuPont Joins List of Companies Pursuing Spinoffs

The current iteration of DuPont is itself a product of a similar corporate split. In 2019, DowDuPont split into three companies—Dow, DuPont and Corteva.

The company is the latest conglomerate to pursue a more focused strategy through spinoffs.

Most notably, 3M (MMM) recently completed the spinoff of its health care business. Similar to the DuPont plan, GE split into three more focused companies resulting in GE Aerospace (GE), GE Vernova (GEV) and GE Healthcare Technologies (GEHC).

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