FMC to split into two companies

FMC Corporation recently announced plans to separate into two independent public companies, "New FMC," which will be comprised of FMC's Agricultural Solutions and Health and Nutrition segments and "FMC Minerals," which will be comprised of FMC's current Minerals segment. 

The company expects the separation, which remains subject to final board approval and other customary conditions, will take the form of a tax-free distribution of shares to existing FMC shareholders.  FMC Corporation expects to complete the separation in early 2015, and each company is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. 

New FMC will be led by Pierre Brondeau, president, CEO and chairman, and Paul Graves will be the executive vice president and CFO. Mark Douglas, president of Agricultural Solutions, and Mike Smith, vice president and global business director of Health and Nutrition, will continue in their current roles.

Pierre Brondeau, FMC Corporation president, CEO and chairman, said: "FMC has proactively managed its portfolio during the last four years as part of Vision 2015, including a realignment of our reporting segments early last year.  Our decision to separate into two independent companies is a natural progression of our strategy. We believe that creating two companies, each with its own publicly-listed equity, will enable the management of each company to pursue its own strategy. This will give each company greater focus on the success factors that are most important to its business and allow the adoption of a capital structure that is appropriate to its business profile.

Brondeau continued: "The creation of two independent companies will deliver meaningful benefits to each of the businesses, the communities in which we operate and all of our stakeholders. Our customers will continue to have collaborative relationships with financially strong organizations that are focused on meeting their needs, and our employees will have new career opportunities."

New FMC will be a technology-based and customer-driven company with deep application expertise. Based on the midpoint of the company's February 2014 outlook, combined revenue and earnings for the Agricultural Solutions and Health and Nutrition segments are expected to be approximately $3.35 billion, up 16 percent over 2013, and $815 million, up 15 percent over 2013, respectively.  New FMC is expected to maintain a strong balance sheet and financial policies consistent with FMC Corporation's current credit rating.