This week’s additions and highlights
1. SPIN-OFFS
- No material updates this week
2. STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES & REVIEWS
(Potential take-outs, asset sales, M&A, etc.)
- DSM-Firmenich (DSFIR Netherlands). dsm-firmenich finally sold its ANH unit. While the €2.2bn + €0.5bn earn-out was pretty much in line with what we expected, the market didn’t like. Sell the news? Or is the announced buyback too low? Whatever the reason, a reminder that this divestments significantly alters the financial profile of the company, pushing it all to more growth, higher margins, more pricing power. Cyclical headwinds have pushed the share price to strong lows. A catalyst could be the upcoming investor day in March. Quite sure it will be a bullish story.
- FMC Corporation (FMC US). FMC recently launched a strategic review. Results remain very weak and 2026 has been guided to be another down year. The review includes a potential sale, though management is prioritizing debt reduction (targeting $1bn via asset sales and licensing), shoring up the legacy portfolio, and managing the post‑patent decline of Rynaxypyr. There are some bright spots (eg New Active Ingredients), but the market is not pricing much for recovery… which is where the opportunity comes from. FMC still has some decent assets.