Description
DuPont is an American company formed by the merger of Dow Chemical and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company on August 31, 2017, and the subsequent spinoffs of Dow Inc. and Corteva. Prior to the spinoffs it was the world's largest chemical company in terms of sales. The merger has been reported to be worth an estimated $130 billion. With 2018 total revenue of $86 billion, DowDuPont ranked No. 35 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States public corporations. DuPont is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, in the state where it is incorporated since the founding of the old DuPont in 1802.
Within 18 months of the merger the DowDupont was split into three publicly traded companies with focuses on agriculture (Corteva), materials science (Dow Inc.), and specialty products (DuPont).
History
On December 11, 2015, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, commonly known as "DuPont", announced a merger with Dow Chemical Company, in an all-stock transaction. The combined company, DowDuPont, had an estimated value of $130 billion, being equally held by both companies’ shareholders, while also maintaining its two headquarters. The merger of the two largest U.S. chemical companies closed on August 31, 2017.
Both companies' boards of directors decided that following the merger, DowDuPont would pursue a separation into three independent, publicly traded companies: an agriculture, a materials science, and a specialty products company.
Advisory Committees were established for each of the businesses. DuPont CEO Ed Breen would lead the Agriculture and Specialty Products Committees, and Dow CEO Andrew Liveris would lead the Materials Science Committee. These Committees were intended to oversee their respective businesses, and would work with both CEOs on the scheduled separation of the businesses’ standalone entities. Announced in February 2018, DowDuPont's agriculture division is named Corteva Agriscience, its materials science division is named Dow, and its specialty products division is named DuPont. In March 2018, it was announced that Jeff Fettig would become executive chairman of DowDuPont on July 1, 2018, and Jim Fitterling would become CEO of Dow Chemical on April 1, 2018. In October 2018, the company's agricultural unit recorded a $4.6 billion loss in the third quarter after lowering its long-term sales and profits targets.
In 2019, DuPont completed its spin off from DowDuPont.
In February 2020, DuPont announced that it is bringing back Edward D. Breen as its CEO after removing former Chief Executive Mark Doyle and CFO Jeanmarie Desmond less than a year after they assumed their roles. Lori D. Koch, previously head of investor relations, assumes the CFO position.
