As We Go To Press
Dow Chemical to buy Rohm and Haas
Rohm and Haas Co. has agreed to be
bought by Dow Chemical Co. in an
agreement under which Dow offered
to pay $78 per share in cash—or
roughly $15 billion total. Additional
financing for the acquisition includes
an equity investment by Warren
Buffet’s company Berkshire
Hathaway and the Kuwait Investment
Authority in the form of convertible
preferred securities for $3 billion and
$1 billion respectively.
The latter’s involvement furthers
Dow’s dealings with Kuwait and the
Middle Eastern region in general.
Last December Dow formed a joint
venture with state-owned oil company
Petrochemical Industries Company
(PIC). As a result of this deal and the
Rohm and Haas acquisition, performance products and advanced materials will represent 69% of Dow’s total
sales compared to 51% prior to these
transactions.
“The acquisition of Rohm and
Haas is a defining step in our transformational strategy to shape the
‘Dow of Tomorrow’—a high value,
diversified chemicals and materials
company, creating the largest specialty chemicals company in the U.S.
with a leading global position in
performance products and advanced
materials.”
Rohm and Haas bolsters Dow’s
position in a number of industries,
most notably coatings and electronic
materials segments. In addition to
these two leading platforms, Rohm
and Haas also has strong presence in
a number of areas such as water solutions, adhesives, personal care, biocides, and building and packaging
materials.
Dow will establish an advanced
materials business unit at Rohm and
Haas’ current headquarters in
Philadelphia, PA and intends to con-
tribute complementary Dow businesses
to Rohm and Haas’ existing portfolio,
such as coatings, biocides and personal
care. The total revenue of this new unit
will approach $13 billion. Dow will
retain Rohm and Haas’ corporate name
for this advanced materials business
unit in order to capitalize on the company’s well-established brand value.
The transaction, which has been
unanimously approved by the boards
of directors of both companies,
remains subject to approval by Rohm
and Haas shareholders, customary
conditions and receipt of regulatory
approvals. The companies are targeting completion of the transaction by
early 2009. CW
Index to Companies
This index gives the starting page for a department or feature with
a significant reference to a manufacturer of paint, coatings, adhe-
sives and sealants. Subsidiaries are indexed under their own names.
Akzo Nobel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 18, 26
APV Engineered Coatings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
BASF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 18
Becker Industrie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
California Paints .......................................... 10
Diversified Coatings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Extreme Adhesives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Henkel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Huron Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
ICA Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Industrial Nanotech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Industrialex .............................................. 10
InternationalPaint ........................................ 10
Kemira .................................................. 10
Minwax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Nerites Corp. ............................................. 10
PPG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 18, 26
Rohmand Haas ........................................... 32
Shawcor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sherwin-Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 18, 26
SpecialtyCoating Systems .................................. 10
Sto Corp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sub-One Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Valspar .................................................. 18
Zircotec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
