The Chemours Company (CC) Accused of Misleading Shareholders
According to the class action complaint for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in the 1970s, DuPont’s company scientists became aware that PFAS posed negative health risks, including liver damage and birth defects. To address the mounting liability of PFAS, which were becoming the basis for environmental regulatory actions and governmental prosecutions, in 2015 DuPont spun off Chemours to shift the responsibility of its environmental liabilities onto Chemours. Chemours concealed these facts and assured investors that liabilities were “well understood well managed” and that it was accurately reserving for its potential liabilities. On May 6, 2019, Glenview Capital Management revealed that Chemours’ environmental liabilities and true PFAS exposure was between $4 billion to $6 billion, dramatically higher than Chemours’ average liability accruals. Then, Chemours’ complaint against DuPont was unsealed revealing that contrary to its public statements concerning the adequacy of its reserves, Chemours had insufficient financial resources to pay for its environmental liabilities. Finally, on August 1, 2019, Chemours lowered its full-year guidance, reducing its cash flow outlook from over $550 million to just $100 million. Following these disclosures, Chemours’ stock price plummeted 57% and has yet to recover, currently trading at around $14.70 per share.
