Air Products Splits its Business in Two

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. said last week that it plans to separate into two publicly traded companies by spinning off its materials-technologies business at the latest by September of 2016. The decision, they said, followed an extensive review of options for the materials business by the company’s board and management.

Air Products got a new chairman and chief executive in June of last year following activist pressure that lead his predecessor stepping down. New Chief Exec, Mr. Seifi Ghasemi, swiftly launched a restructuring program that included the elimination of about 1,500 positions Worldwide. (According to the WSJ).

The slide pack titled "Separation of Materials Technologies, September 17, 2015"

(http://investors.airproducts.com/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=92444&eventID=5203505&_ga=1.183328358.117495566.1443079607)

shows some interesting facts about the future direction. They are going to offer the split-off company to their US shareholders as a "Tax-free spin-off" Air Products will then become "the safest and most profitable industrial gas company in the world, providing excellent service to our customers".

The new company "Materials Technologies" (Presumably they will find a new name for it over the coming months) will be headed-up by Guillermo Novo as CEO of the new company. Materials Technologies will be a "leading innovation-driven specialty materials company, providing value-added services to its customers".

So the #1 Estimated Global Position (Player) in the Epoxy curing agents market (as assessed by Air Products) will soon be set-free from it's long term parent Air Products. Ominously, the presentation says that Materials Technologies will be "well-capitalized consistent with BB/Ba rating" and there is an "Opportunity for both companies to further optimize cost structure and balance sheet post-separation"

Interesting times in the Epoxy industry?

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