St. Louis, Missouri
November 29, 2007
The final approval of the plan for
Solutia Inc. to emerge from bankruptcy is "great news for
Solutia, great news for retirees and great news for Monsanto," a
Monsanto Company (NYSE:
MON) executive said today.
"As we've
said from the beginning, our goals have to been to see an
economically viable Solutia emerge from bankruptcy, via a plan
that protects the interests of retirees while assuring that
Monsanto obtains finality in a fair resolution in the best
interests of Monsanto's shareowners," said David F. Snively,
Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel for
Monsanto. "The exit plan approved today accomplishes all of our
goals."
Today,
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Prudence Carter Beatty gave final
approval to the reorganization plan submitted by Solutia in
September. The company filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec.
17, 2003.
Solutia
was spun off as a separate chemical company in 1997 by Pharmacia
Corp. (the original company named "Monsanto"). Pharmacia created
a new company eventually spun off as an agricultural businesses
under the name "Monsanto" in 2002. As part of Pharmacia's
spin-off agreement, the new Monsanto assumed liability for
certain obligations if Solutia failed to perform them.
Under the
Solutia reorganization plan approved by the court, Monsanto will
receive value in the newly reorganized Solutia and on behalf of
Pharmacia will assume post-bankruptcy responsibility for
designated environmental and litigation responsibilities, and
continues to share responsibility with Solutia for remediation
programs at specified sites.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. |
