false 0001666700 0001666700 2021-01-22 2021-01-22

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d)

of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 22, 2021

 

 

DuPont de Nemours, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   001-38196   81-1224539

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

file number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

 

974 Centre Road, Building 730 Wilmington, Delaware   19805
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

(302) 774-3034

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Not applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Title of each class

 

Trading

Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange

on which registered

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share   DD   New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

 

 


Introductory Note

As previously disclosed, on December 15, 2019, DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (“DuPont”) entered into (i) a Separation and Distribution Agreement (the “Separation and Distribution Agreement”) with Nutrition & Biosciences, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont (“N&Bco”) and International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., a New York corporation (“IFF”), pursuant to which and subject to the terms and conditions therein, DuPont will transfer its nutrition and biosciences business (the “N&B Business”) to N&Bco and (ii) an Employee Matters Agreement (the “Employee Matters Agreement Agreement”) with N&Bco and IFF, which, among other things, allocates among the parties the pre-and post-closing liabilities in respect of the current and former employees of the N&B Business (including liabilities in respect of employee compensation and benefit plans). The Separation and Distribution Agreement and the Employee Matters Agreement were entered into in connection with the previously announced Reverse Morris Trust transaction between DuPont and IFF, where IFF will acquire the N&B Business by way of a merger between Neptune Merger Sub I Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of IFF (“Merger Sub I”), with and into N&Bco, with N&Bco as the surviving corporation (the “Merger”), pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of December 15, 2019, by and among DuPont, N&Bco, IFF and Merger Sub I.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

The Separation Agreement Amendment

On January 22, 2021, DuPont, N&Bco, IFF and Neptune Merger Sub II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of IFF (“Merger Sub II”), entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Separation and Distribution Agreement (the “Separation Agreement Amendment”).

The Separation Agreement Amendment, among other things, adjusts the process by which DuPont is repaid for cash balances remaining at N&Bco and its subsidiaries. The Separation Agreement will continue to require that N&Bco make a payment to DuPont to reimburse DuPont for certain cash amounts of N&Bco and its subsidiaries as of immediately prior to the distribution of N&Bco to DuPont’s stockholders (the “Distribution”). As previously disclosed, the Distribution will be immediately followed by the Merger. Pursuant to the Separation Agreement Amendment, (1) such payment will now be made immediately prior to the Distribution based on an estimate of the cash balances; (2) to the extent the actual amount of cash differs from the estimate, the parties will make a subsequent corrective payment following the closing of the transactions and (3) if the parties are unable to agree on such amounts following the closing of the transactions, such dispute will be resolved by the same process utilized to resolve any disputes with respect to the calculation of the special cash payment (and concurrently as part of any such process). With respect to cash in jurisdictions other than the United States of America, reimbursement of DuPont is limited in certain jurisdictions, such that DuPont will be reimbursed in full only for amounts up to an agreed maximum in those jurisdictions, calculated based on a maximum amount of operating cash in each applicable jurisdiction, which amounts have been mutually agreed to by the parties. The Separation Agreement Amendment also provides for the formal joinder of Merger Sub II to the Separation Agreement. N&B is expected to merge with and into Merger Sub II, with Merger Sub II as the surviving entity, following the closing of the transactions.

The Employee Matters Agreement Amendment

On January 22, 2021, DuPont, N&Bco and IFF entered into the Amendment to the Employee Matters Agreement (the “Employee Matters Agreement Amendment”).

The Employee Matters Agreement Amendment, among other things, makes certain operational adjustments to the transfer of pension plan assets and liabilities, clarifies the allocation of and certain procedures with respect to certain obligations previously established by the Employee Matters Agreement and implements the final allocation of employees in shared corporate and functional department roles that will transfer with the N&B Business to IFF.

The foregoing descriptions of the Separation Agreement Amendment, the Employee Matters Agreement Amendment and the transactions contemplated thereby do not purport to be complete and are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, the full text of the Separation Agreement Amendment and the Employee Matters Agreement Amendment, which are filed as Exhibit 2.1 and Exhibit 10.1 hereto and are incorporated herein by reference.

 

2



Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In connection with the proposed transaction, Nutrition & Biosciences, Inc. (“N&B”) has filed a registration statement on Form S-4/S-1 containing a prospectus, dated December 31, 2020, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (“IFF”) has filed a registration statement on Form S-4 containing a prospectus, dated December 31, 2020 (together, the “registration statements”), and DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (“DuPont”) has filed a Schedule TO with the SEC. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENTS, DUPONT’S SCHEDULE TO AND ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE FILINGS AS WELL AS ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT N&B, IFF AND DUPONT AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. The registration statements, DuPont’s Schedule TO and other documents relating to the proposed transaction (when they become available) can also be obtained free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These documents and each of the companies’ other filings with the SEC (when available) can also be obtained free of charge, with respect to DuPont and N&B, upon written request to Georgeson LLC, at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10104, or by telephone at 888-660-8331, or, with respect to IFF, upon written request to International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. investor relations at 521 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019 or by calling (212) 708-7164.

In addition, for any questions about the exchange offer generally you may contact the information agent, Georgeson LLC, at 888-660-8331.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “see,” “will,” “would,” “target,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about the proposed transaction, the expected timetable for completing the proposed transaction, the benefits and synergies of the proposed transaction, future opportunities for the combined company and products, the benefits of the proposed organizational and operating model of the combined company and any other statements regarding DuPont’s, IFF’s and N&B’s future operations, financial or operating results, capital allocation, dividend policy, debt ratio, anticipated business levels, future earnings, planned activities, anticipated growth, market opportunities, strategies, competitions, and other expectations and targets for future periods. There are several factors which could cause actual plans and results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, (1) the parties’ ability to meet expectations regarding the timing, completion and accounting and tax treatments of the proposed transaction, (2) changes in relevant tax and other laws, (3) any failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals, anticipated tax treatment or any required financing or to satisfy any of the other conditions to the proposed transaction, (4) the possibility that unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, business and management strategies that could impact the value, timing or pursuit of the proposed transaction, (5) risks and costs and pursuit and/or implementation of the separation of N&B, including timing anticipated to complete the separation, any changes to the configuration of businesses included in the separation if implemented, (6) risks and costs related to the distribution of Corteva Inc. on June 1, 2019 (the “Corteva Distribution”) and the distribution of Dow Inc. on April 1, 2019 (the “Dow Distribution” and together with the Corteva Distribution the “Previous Distributions”) including indemnification of certain legacy liabilities of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (“Historical EID”), a subsidiary of Corteva, in connection with the Corteva Distribution and potential liability arising from fraudulent conveyance and similar laws in connection with the Previous Distributions, (7) risks and costs related to the performance under and impact of the cost sharing arrangement by and between DuPont, Corteva, Inc. and The Chemours Company related to future eligible PFAS liabilities (8) failure to effectively manage acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio changes, including meeting conditions under the Letter Agreement entered in connection with the Corteva Distribution, related to the transfer of certain levels of assets and businesses, (9) uncertainty as to the long-term value of DuPont common stock, (10) potential inability or reduced access to the capital markets or increased cost of borrowings, including as a result of a credit rating downgrade, (11) inherent uncertainties involved in the estimates and judgments used in the preparation of financial statements and the providing of estimates of financial measures, in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and related standards, or on an adjusted basis, (12) the integration of IFF and its Frutarom business and/or N&B being more difficult, time consuming or costly than expected, (13) the failure to achieve expected or targeted future financial and operating performance and results, (14) the possibility that IFF may be unable to achieve expected benefits, synergies and operating efficiencies in connection with the proposed transaction within the expected time frames or at all or to successfully integrate Frutarom and N&B, (15) customer loss and business disruption being greater than expected following the proposed transaction, (16) the impact of divestitures required as a condition to consummation of the proposed transaction as well as other conditional commitments, (17) legislative, regulatory and economic developments; (18) an increase or decrease in the anticipated transaction taxes (including due to any changes to tax legislation and its impact on tax rates (and the timing of the effectiveness of any such changes)), (19) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction that could be instituted against DuPont, IFF or their respective directors, (20) risks associated with third party contracts containing consent and/or other provisions that may be triggered by the proposed transaction, (21) negative effects of the announcement or the consummation of the transaction on the market price of DuPont’s and/or IFF’s common stock, (22) risks relating to the value of the IFF shares to be issued in the transaction and uncertainty as to the long-term value of IFF’s common stock, (23) the impact of the failure to comply with U.S. or foreign anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws and regulations, (24) the ability of N&B or IFF to retain and hire key personnel, (25) the risk that N&B, as a newly formed entity that currently has no credit rating, will not have access to the capital markets on acceptable terms, (26) the risk that N&B and IFF will incur significant indebtedness in connection with the potential transaction, and the degree to which IFF will be leveraged following completion of the potential transaction may materially and adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations, (27) the ability to obtain or consummate financing or refinancing related to the transaction upon acceptable terms or at all, (28) that N&B may not achieve certain targeted cost and productivity improvements, which could adversely impact its results of operations and financial condition, (29) the risk that natural disasters, public health issues, epidemics and pandemics, including the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), or the fear of such events, could provoke responses that cause delays in the anticipated transaction timing or the completion of transactions related thereto, including, without limitation, as a result of any government or company imposed travel restrictions or the closure of government offices and resulting delays with respect to any matters pending before such governmental authorities and (30) other risks to DuPont’s, N&B’s and IFF’s business, operations and results of operations including from: failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; ability, cost and impact on business operations, including the supply chain, of responding to changes in market acceptance, rules, regulations and policies and failure to respond to such changes; outcome of significant litigation, environmental matters and other commitments and contingencies; failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues; global economic and capital market conditions, including the continued availability of capital and financing, as well as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; changes in political conditions, including tariffs, trade disputes and retaliatory actions; impairment of goodwill or intangible assets; the availability of and fluctuations in the cost of energy and raw materials; business or supply disruption, including in connection with the Previous Distributions; security threats, such as acts of sabotage, terrorism or war, natural disasters and weather events and patterns, disasters, public health issues, epidemics and pandemics, including COVID-19, or the fear of such events, and the inherent unpredictability, duration and severity of such events, which could result in a significant operational event for DuPont, N&B or IFF, adversely impact demand or production; ability to discover, develop and protect new technologies and to protect and enforce DuPont’s, N&B’s or IFF’s intellectual property rights; as well as management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the proposed merger, are more fully discussed in the registration statement and proxy statement filed by IFF and the registration statement filed by N&B. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors presented in registration statements filed by each of IFF and N&B in connection with the transaction, are considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Further lists and descriptions of risks and uncertainties can be found in IFF’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, DuPont’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and each of IFF’s and DuPont’s respective subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 8-K, the contents of which are not incorporated by reference into, nor do they form part of, this announcement. Any other risks associated with the proposed transaction are more fully discussed in the registration statements filed with the SEC. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors presented in the registration statements, as amended, filed by each of IFF or N&B are representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on IFF’s, DuPont’s or N&B’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, credit rating or liquidity. None of IFF, DuPont nor N&B assumes any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

 

4


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

      DUPONT DE NEMOURS, INC.
      Registrant
Date: January 25, 2021     By:  

/s/ Michael G. Goss

    Name:   Michael G. Goss
    Title:   Vice President and Controller

 

5


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
No.

  

Description

  2.1    Amendment No. 1 to the Separation and Distribution Agreement, dated January 22, 2021, by and among DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Nutrition & Biosciences, Inc., International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. and Neptune Merger Sub II LLC.
10.1    Amendment to the Employee Matters Agreement, dated January 22, 2021, by and among DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Nutrition & Biosciences, Inc. and International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.
104    The cover page from this Current Report on Form 8-K, formatted in Inline XBRL.
  

 

6

DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more DuPont de Nemours Charts.
DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more DuPont de Nemours Charts.