3M to sell 'substantially all' of its Communication Markets division to Corning

Post-it notes maker 3m said on Monday that it has agreed to sell “substantially all” of its Communication Markets division to Corning Inc for $900m.

This business consists of optical fibre and copper passive connectivity solutions for the telecommunications industry including 3M’s xDSL, FTTx, and structured cabling solutions and, in certain countries, telecommunications system integration services. It has annual global sales of around $400m.

Executive vice president of the Electronics & Energy Business Group, Ashish Khandpur, said: “After completing a thorough strategic review, we believe that this business will be well positioned with Corning.”

The sale is expected to be completed next year and will see around 500 3M employees joining Corning upon completion of the deal. 3M expects to realise a gain of approximately 40 cents per share from the transaction, net of actions related to the divestiture.

Goldman Sachs acted as the exclusive financial advisor to 3M.

At 1500 GMT, the shares were up 0.8% to $240.