WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- Platform Specialty Products today announced its intention to separate its Agricultural Solutions and Performance Solutions segments.

The firm said the move should occur in 2018, depending on market conditions, and is expected to increase shareholder value for the two units.

In making the announcement, chairman Martin Franklin said, “Following a strategic review and discussions with our management teams, we believe the best way to maximize long-term value for our shareholders is by separating our Agricultural Solutions business as a standalone public company. We are fortunate to have two very high-quality businesses serving two very different market segments in the specialty chemicals industry. We have long felt that this diversification has been an impediment to investors’ full appreciation of the value of each asset. We believe that these businesses each have the scale, the management, business quality and growth potential to be great standalone public companies. We intend to structure the separation such that both companies will have appropriate post-separation balance sheets to facilitate independent access to capital for bolt-on acquisitions or strategic combinations within their respective markets. There has been interest from investors to put capital behind our Ag business, and we would expect, as part of this process, equity to be raised by the new Ag entity to support its balance sheet.”

CEO Rakesh Sachdev added, “Arysta and MacDermid Performance Solutions are both exceptional businesses serving primarily niche, specialized markets. Arysta is a global, leading agrochemical company with a strong product portfolio, a preferred partnership position with discovery based firms and a robust pipeline focused on fast-growing specialty markets. MacDermid Performance Solutions is a leading global specialty chemicals company that provides differentiated solutions and high-touch service in attractive, niche industrial and electronic end-markets. We believe that as two standalone companies, beyond unlocking shareholder value, these businesses will be further enabled to execute on their respective strategies for growth. Of course, throughout this process we will be focused on avoiding cost dis-synergies from the transaction."

The businesses already operate on a largely standalone basis, he added.

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