FMC Corp returns from Europe as CEO Pierre Brondeau navigates a turnaround

FMC Corp flew from Shannon Airport in Ireland to Trenton Mercer Airport on May 25, 2026, a 6-hour 57-minute transatlantic hop aboard its Bombardier Challenger 605 (tail N1088). The aircraft, registered to the Philadelphia-based agricultural-sciences company, touched down in New Jersey after a week of European stops that included Brussels, Barcelona, and Perpignan.

The trip arrives the same week FMC Corp is navigating a critical juncture. CEO Pierre Brondeau, who came out of retirement last year to lead the company, is executing a 2026 plan to cut costs and launch new herbicides while the board, per an Inquirer report on March 2, has hired Bank of America and Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale. The company priced $1.2 billion in senior secured notes on May 21, as disclosed in an SEC filing, to refinance debt and shore up liquidity.

The European leg of the journey—spanning Brussels, Barcelona, and southern France—suggests meetings tied to FMC Corp's new product registrations. On the company's Q1 earnings call, Brondeau noted that the EU recently approved the active ingredient for Isoflex, a key new molecule, with country-level registrations expected in early 2027. The flight pattern reflects a CEO shuttling between continents to steady a company that lost its top-selling insecticide Rynaxypyr to patent expiry in 2025.