DuPont spins off Conoco

by The Associated Press

DuPont Co. might have decided to get out of the oil and gas business, but many of its shareholders have opted to remain.

DuPont announced Aug. 9 that it had accepted about 148 million shares tendered in exchange for 436.5 million Conoco Inc. Class B shares, or 2.95 Conoco shares for each DuPont share.

Because its shareholders oversubscribed to the exchange, Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont expects to accept only about 41 percent of the approximately 355.1 million shares offered, the company said.

The tender offer closed Aug. 6. After the exchange, DuPont said it will have about 982 million shares of common stock outstanding.

The exchange of 70 percent of Houston-based Conoco marks the final chapter in DuPont’s 18-year ownership of the sixth-largest oil company. DuPont spun off the other 30 percent last October in the largest-ever initial public offering.

“This is the most important day in Conoco’s 124-year history. We are now a large independent, global energy company and a formidable competitor around the world,” Conoco president Archie Dunham said Aug. 9.

“On behalf of Conoco’s 15,000 employees, I thank DuPont for their excellent stewardship of our company.”