E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company—commonly known as DuPont—has turned to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for outside counsel on its plan to split itself in two by spinning off its performance chemicals business into a new publicly traded company.

The Wilmington-based industrial conglomerate, which has been under fire from activist investors like Nelson Peltz, announced late Thursday that it would implement the tax-free separation plan over the next 18 months.