how long before Monsanto has to spin-off again to escape the liabilities its activities have created?
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Monsanto's chemical spin-off firm unveils path from bankruptcy
CHRISTOPHER LEONARD
Associated Press, Feb. 14, 2006 http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/business/13869667.htm

ST. LOUIS - Solutia Inc., the chemical company spun off from Monsanto Co. in 1997, unveiled a plan Tuesday that would move the firm out of bankruptcy if approved by a judge overseeing the process.

Solutia, based in the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, makes a wide variety of chemical products, from pharmaceuticals to laminated glass. Monsanto spun off the chemical company in 1997. Monsanto now focuses on developing genetically engineered seeds.

Monsanto's earlier chemical business carries a legacy of legal costs, such as lawsuits over pollution from polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, chemicals that persist in the environment. Under the bankruptcy plan, Monsanto will accept liability for lawsuits and environmental cleanup associated with those chemicals, Solutia said.

Monsanto spokesman Glynn Young said Monsanto will continue to litigate pollution lawsuits as well as clean up pollution that occurred before 1997.

Young said Monsanto will pay the first $50 million to clean up PCB pollution in Anniston, Ala., and Sauget, Ill. Solutia will pay the next $325 million, Young said. After that, the companies plan to split the cost of future cleanup efforts.

Another legacy Solutia inherited is the retirement benefits owed to some 23,000 former employees of Pharmacia and Solutia and their dependents. The company said its plan will give retirees an unsecured claim for $35 million in Solutia's bankruptcy settlement.

The bankruptcy plan calls for Solutia to spend about $250 million. It will raise the money by selling unsecured debt. Creditors will be given a chance to buy 22.7 percent of common stock in the company once it leaves bankruptcy. Monsanto committed to pay for all $250 million of the stock if no one else wants to buy it.

About $175 million of the money raised from the sale would be set aside in a trust fund for retirees.

Solutia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2003. Monsanto said Tuesday it welcomes Solutia's new plan to get back in business.

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