APD intends to spin-off materials technologies business

Air Products (APD) has announced that its Board of Directors has approved the intention to fully separate its Materials Technologies business via a tax-free spin-off to its shareholders. Completion of the spin-off is planned for before September 2016.

This strategic decision will allow Air Products’ Industrial Gases and the Materials Technologies businesses to leverage their respective critical competencies and enhance their competitive positions. The company believes the result of the spin-off will be two best-in-class public companies with distinct business models, capital requirements and growth profiles.

“I am very pleased that our Board of Directors has approved this strategic move. This separation will provide shareholders ownership in two leading and focused companies while providing the opportunity to value our Industrial Gases and Materials Technologies businesses independently. We believe a tax-free spin-off of the Materials Technologies business will create significant shareholder value,” said Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President, and CEO at Air Products.

“The timing for this action is excellent and we look forward to the opportunity to operate as a stand-alone company focused on specialty materials. We already have a portfolio of world-class businesses with leading positions and sustainable competitive advantages in attractive niche markets. Our management team has demonstrated the ability to innovate, improve our underlying performance and rapidly respond to changing market dynamics to deliver profitable growth,” added Guillermo Novo, Executive Vice President – Materials Technologies.

Novo will be CEO of the yet-to-be-named company at the completion of the spin-off and Ghasemi will be the Non-Executive Chairman of the new company.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/17092015/apd-intends-to-spin-off-materials-technologies-business-1419/