DuPont has announced a plan to separate into three separate, publicly traded companies over the course of the 18-24 months, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including final board approval regulatory approvals and satisfactory completion of financing. Outgoing CEO and executive chairman Ed Breen (pictured) described this as “an extraordinary opportunity to deliver long-term, sustainable shareholder value”.

According to the latest annual report by brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance, BASF is still the most valuable chemicals brand with a brand value of $9.2 billion 11% up on 2023, and a brand strength rating (BSR) of AAA-. It ranked fourth in the brand strength index with score of 80.7 of 100. This is the tenth consecutive year that BASF has topped the chemicals segment.

Chemours, DuPont and Corteva have reached an agreement in principle to resolve all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS)-related drinking water claims of a defined class of public water systems that serve “the vast majority of the US population”. They will pay about $592 million, $400 million and $193 million respectively into a settlement fund by 12 June.

A private equity consortium made up of BroadPeak Global, Asia Green Fund and Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur) has acquired DuPont’s Clean Technologies business and relaunched it under the name Elessent Clean Technologies. Eli Ben-Shoshan has been named as the new firm’s CEO.

DuPont and the companies that used to be part of it, Chemours and Corteva, have reached a settlement with the Delaware Department of Justice. Under this, they are held responsible for decades of damage done to Delaware’s environment by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs).

The agreement has avoided a potential lawsuit for historic contamination by PFASs in Delaware, which remains DuPont’s headquarters. This had impacted waterways and groundwater located in each of the state’s three counties.

DuPont has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Laird Performance Materials from private equity giant Advent International. This is expected to close in Q3, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The $2.3 billion cost (about 15x estimated 2021 EBITDA) will be paid from existing cash.

DuPont, its spin-off company Chemours, and Corteva, which unites DuPont’s and Dow’s former agrochemicals businesses, have agreed a settlement on all legal disputes concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) arising out of the spin-off of Chemours in 2015.