Barington Wants Specialty Chemical Company Omnova to Break Up -- Update

By David Benoit 

Activist Barington Capital Group LP wants chemicals company Omnova Solutions Inc. to break up, according to a letter the activist sent the company on Wednesday.

Barington, which garnered attention last year when it first proposed splitting up Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants Inc., believes Omnova has underperformed and would do better focusing on its largest operations, the letter said.

The investor controls a roughly 2% stake.

Omnova operates two business segments: performance materials, which includes chemicals and coatings used in a broad range of markets from magazine printing to the oil and gas industry, and engineered surfaces, which includes specialty fabrics and plastics used in autos and carpets, among other things. The performance-materials unit makes up about 75% of total revenue and operating profit.

Barington is calling on Omnova to explore selling the smaller engineered-surfaces business and bulking up the remaining businesses with hiring and acquisitions. The letter criticized the stock performance and said the company should use its cash to buy back the beaten-down shares.

Omnova's stock rose about 3% to $6.93 Wednesday morning. It has fallen about 24% this year, dragging down the company's market capitalization to about $330 million.

Several companies in the chemicals industry that have diverse business lines are facing calls from activist investors to break apart. Dow Chemical Co. last month added two new board members proposed by activist Daniel Loeb, who had previously called for splitting up the company. DuPont Co. is facing similar pressure from Trian Fund Management LP. Both Dow and DuPont have rejected the activists' specific calls, though both have taken their own steps to shed some business lines.

Omnova's August-ended quarter saw profit drop sharply, which it blamed on weak underlying paper and carpet markets. Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin McMullen called the results disappointing, but he said the company was taking steps to hire sales people and explore acquisitions in the core businesses, while also cutting costs. At the time, he said the company's management was aligned with creating shareholder value.

Barington will seek to discuss changing the board and splitting the chairman and CEO roles, the letter said. Those are typical requests from the firm, which earlier this week r eached a pact to add its founder and Chief Executive James Mitarotonda to the board of software company Ebix Inc.

Mr. Mitarotonda has experience in similar businesses as Omnova, and been on the board of an industrial plastics company A. Schulman Inc. since 2005.

Write to David Benoit at [e-mail]

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