On Friday, DowDuPont announced that its Board of Directors has agreed to the previously announced separation of its Materials Science Division. The division will become the new Dow on April 1.
DowDuPont’s board of directors declared a dividend for the second quarter of $325 million to be paid on May 28, 2019, in the aggregate on pro rata basis to DowDuPont stockholders and reaffirmed intent for DuPont and Corteva to issue annual dividend payouts of $900 million and $400 million, respectively.
In addition, Dow declared a pro rata dividend for the second quarter of $525 million to be paid June 14, 2019 to shareholders and reaffirmed its intent to issue annual dividend payout of $2.1 billion and launch of $3 billion open share repurchase program after separation.
“Today’s announcement marks a major milestone toward successfully separating Dow on April 1, to be followed by the expected separation of Corteva Agriscience™ from the new DuPont on June 1,” said Ed Breen, chief executive officer of DowDuPont. “We believe that each of the intended three independent companies is set to be an industry leader with the right management and capital structure to better serve customers, compete in their end markets and focus on their innovation priorities.”
“The new Dow is a more focused, disciplined and market-oriented company,” said Jim Fitterling, chief operating officer of the Materials Science division and chief executive officer elect of Dow. “We are fully prepared for our separation from DowDuPont on April 1, and ready to innovate and grow with our customers while delivering long-term value for our shareholders.”