Corteva, the combined agriscience business of DuPont and Dow, is moving its world headquarters from the Chestnut Hill site near Wilmington to Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported.
The move by the publicly-traded company was not a surprise, given the company’s decision to put space at the Chestnut Run site on the market and the appointment of a new CEO Chuck Magro. Magro succeeded veteran DuPonter Jim Collins.
The retirement came after an activist investor group demanded Collins’ ouster, citing lagging stock performance but later agreed to end its battle with the company.
The complex merger and spin-off of Dow and DuPont into a slimmer DuPont and Dow and a heftier Corteva has not yet paid off when it comes to stock prices, despite business unit sales, spinoffs, and stock buybacks.
Corteva already has a sizable presence in the Indianapolis area.
The initial DowDuPont merger and spin-off designated Delaware as the headquarters for Corteva. However, the company kept a relatively small staff in Delaware, with normal corporate functions such as communications moving to other locations.
It also kept a low profile in the state, although it was a supporter of the agriculture-focused Delaware State Fair.
Much of the worldwide company’s presence in the US is in the Midwestern “farm belt,” which includes Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa, home of the Pioneer brand of seeds that were part of DuPont.
DuPont retirees will continue to have a more than passing interest in Corteva, since the company’s pension was moved over to the agribusiness company. Like many companies, DuPont had ended fixed pension benefits for newer employees, but maintained the fixed benefit plan.
There have been complaints among retirees about Corteva which ended an insurance plan for retirees.
The complex merger and spin-off of Dow and DuPont that led to the formation of Corteva remain a work in progress when it comes to the stock price of the three companies, although there has been some uptick in Corteva’s share price.
Ed Breen, who engineered the deal with the former CEO of Dow, returned to DuPont as its CEO after the company reported disappointing earnings. Breen has been selling off businesses and focusing on the fast-growing electronics supply market. Dow shares have also lagged, despite its sizeable stock dividend.
A message was sent to Corteva seeking comment.