MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Chemical Company and Olin Corporation has announced the achievement of a regulatory milestone in the proposed transaction involving a significant portion of Dow’s chlorine value chain and Olin Corporation, with the expiration of the required waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, reported Dow on its site.
"This important milestone marks progress toward the close of a seminal transaction maximizing return for both Dow and Olin shareholders and the advancement of Dow’s targeted market participation and portfolio transformation strategies," said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer.
As previously announced, on March 27, 2015, Dow and Olin entered into a definitive agreement under which Dow will separate its U.S. Gulf Coast Chlor-Alkali and Vinyl, Global Chlorinated Organics and Global Epoxy businesses, and then merge these businesses with Olin in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. The merger will result in Dow shareholders receiving at least a majority of the shares of Olin, with existing Olin shareholders owning the remaining shares.
"We are one step closer to combining the world-class assets and people of Dow and Olin taking our business to an entirely new level in terms of scale, integration, cost-advantaged feedstocks, and a broad and diverse end-uses portfolio, ultimately creating value for our customers," said Joseph D. Rupp, Olin’s chairman and chief executive officer.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year and is subject to approval by Olin shareholders and completion of customary closing conditions.
As MRC informed earlier, in February 201, The Dow Chemical Company completed sale of ANGUS Chemical Company to Golden Gate Capital. The company finalized the divestiture of its Sodium Borohydride business to Vertellus Performance Chemicals LLC and certain of its affiliates.
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. In 2014, Dow had annual sales of more than USD58 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The company's more than 6,000 product families are manufactured at 201 sites in 35 countries across the globe.
Olin Corporation is a manufacturer concentrated in three business segments: Chlor Alkali Products, Chemical Distribution and Winchester. Chlor Alkali Products, with eight U.S. manufacturing facilities and one Canadian manufacturing facility, produces chlorine and caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products and potassium hydroxide. Chemical Distribution manufactures bleach products and distributes caustic soda, bleach products, potassium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid.
MRC