It started with General ElectricGE

, continued with KelloggK

, and now DuPontDD

is joining the trend of conglomerate breakups, a move seen as a strategy to boost stock prices. The chemicals provider is splitting into three sectors: electronics, water, and biopharma/medical devices. This move sent DuPont’s stock up by ~3% yesterday, although it ended the day flat. DuPont investors are familiar with this trend, as the stock has gone virtually nowhere over the past five years.

• The restructuring, expected to be completed in 18-24 months, aims to distance DuPont from its toxic “forever chemicals” class action lawsuit.
• According to Melius Research analyst Scott Davis, “These assets together perhaps didn’t play well together, but separately they look pretty darn interesting” (BBG).

Three’s a crowd: Other conglomerates have also found it hard to play nice and manage diverse sectors. In March, GE decided to split into three separate companies. This week, GE VernovaGEV

became the fifth best-performing stock in the S&P 500 since separating from GE. Last month, Embracer GroupTHQQF

, the Swedish gaming company behind Borderlands, announced plans to split into three companies — following French conglomerate Vivendi’sVIVEF

plans to split into four.