A few months ahead of the planned separation, Ashland Inc. (ASH Quick QuoteASH - Free Report) has appointed Mary Meixelsperger as the new Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) of its current fully-owned subsidiary, Valvoline Inc. Meixelsperger is scheduled to join the company and work under CEO Sam Mitchell from Jun 20, 2016, at Valvoline’s global headquarters in Lexington, KY.

 

Meixelsperger brings with her decades of management and leadership experience, particularly in the retail industry. Since 2014, she had been serving as senior vice president and CFO of DSW Inc. , footwear and accessories retailer which has stores as well as an eCommerce platform. Prior to this, she served as CFO, treasurer and controller at Shopko Stores from 2005 to 2014. Between 1993 and 2004, she worked for a couple of non−profit organizations as CFO, and served the same role at Worldmark Group, a private equity firm, from 1986 to 1991. 

 

Ashland has appointed Meixelsperger to the position in preparation for its planned separation into two publicly traded companies. She will be responsible for Valvoline’s global financial organization. Her role includes accounting, reporting, treasury, insurance, business planning, investor relations as well as audit activities. She stated looking forward to becoming part of Valvoline at this “exciting time” for the company. 

 

Ashland’s shares rose roughly 1.2% in the trading session on Tuesday, closing the day at $116.25. 

 

Ashland’s Valvoline segment performed well in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 (ended Mar 31, 2016). The segment reported growth in EBITDA for the tenth consecutive quarter. Though volume in the segment improved 8%, sales remained relatively flat year over year at $479 million, hurt by currency headwinds. The segment accounted for roughly 40% of the company’s total sales. The third quarter is the segment’s seasonally strongest, and sales are expected in the range of $500−$510 million in the same. 

 

Ashland offers specialty chemicals in more than 100 countries. With the closure of its Water Technologies unit sale in 2014, the company now has three commercial units – Specialty Ingredients, Performance Materials and Valvoline. For over 150 years, Valvoline has been serving the needs of automotive customers all over the world, making it the most recognized premium brand in the global automotive lubricant industry.

 

Ashland had earlier announced its plans to divide the company into two separately traded public companies, the new public holding company, Ashland Global Holdings, and Valvoline. The separation is expected to provide both companies with financial flexibility to achieve their long-term objectives. 

 

Valvoline, last week, filed for registration for an Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) of up to 20% of its common stock. Ashland has also filed a proposal for the company to be reorganized as Ashland Global Holdings and register its shares as the same. The IPO is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2016. The remaining shares of Valvoline will be distributed to the shareholders of Ashland after the expiration of the IPO lock-up period, which is typically six months. 

 

Ashland currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). 

 

Some better-ranked companies in the specialty chemical space include Daqo New Energy Corp. (DQ Quick QuoteDQ - Free Report) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and AgroFresh Solutions Inc. , carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). 

 

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>