1 November 2012 – demerger
Following a strategic review, the group has now confirmed that it plans to demerge its Performance Materials division from the rest of the group as it believes that this will help to enhance shareholder value. The demerged business will be called Alent whilst the remaining Cookson business, mainly the Engineered Ceramics division, will be called Vesuvius. Each is likely to be an FTSE 250 stock. The demerger is expected to take place on 19 December. After the strong rise in the share price of the last month, we reduce our recommendation to HOLD.