Dupont: Trian Plan To Split Company Is High Risk

(RTTNews) - Chemicals giant EI DuPont De Nemours & Co. (DD) said Tuesday that activist hedge fund Trian Fund Management, L.P.'s proposal to split the company is "high risk and would destroy shareholder value".

In a letter to DuPont shareholders, the company's chairman and chief exexutive officer Ellen Kullman said, "We studied Trian's various proposals to break up and add debt to the Company, and, after thorough consideration, ultimately concluded that these proposals were not in the best interests of DuPont shareholders. In an attempt to advance their agenda, Trian has launched a proxy fight based on misrepresentations, inaccurate data, and flawed analyses to distract from DuPont's track record of strong performance."

Kullman also rubbished Trian's misleading assertions that DuPont's recent changes and stock performance are the result of Trian's involvement in the stock, as not true.

"As you know, the current management team began developing and implementing a multi-year transformation in 2009, four years prior to Trian's investment in DuPont. For example, Trian has attempted to claim credit for our spin-off of Chemours, when, in fact, we had initiated planning for the Chemours spin-off well before Trian's investment," Kullman wrote in the letter.

DuPont shares have outperformed peers and the S&P 500 in recent years, Kullman said in the letter.

Kullman also claimed that DuPont officials met with those of Trian more than 20 times, including telephonic and in person meetings, in an effort to work constructively. "Despite our engagement, they presented an ultimatum to DuPont that they have continued to reiterate to us - break up the company, put Trian on the DuPont Board, or face a proxy fight."

Trian, which beneficial owns a 2.7% stake in DuPont, last week revealed that it was nominating four independent director candidates, including Trian co-founder Nelson Peltz, for election to the DuPont board at the company's 2015 annual meeting.

DuPont shares are currently trading at $76.41, up 23 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $63.70 to $76.66.