DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company have approved a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals.
The combined company will be named DowDuPont with combined market capitalization of approximately US$130 billion. It will subsequently be separated into three independent, publicly traded companies through tax-free spin-offs around 18-24 months after the closing of the merger.
The companies will cover agriculture, material science and specialty products, with the material science company consisting of DuPont’s performance materials segment, as well as Dow’s performance plastics, performance materials and chemicals, infrastructure solutions, and consumer solutions operating segments.
‘This transaction is a game-changer for our industry and reflects the culmination of a vision we have had for more than a decade to bring together these two powerful innovation and material science leaders,’ said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and CEO.
‘For DuPont, this is a definitive leap forward on our path to higher growth and higher value,’ said Edward D. Breen, chairman and CEO of DuPont. ‘This merger of equals will create significant near-term value through substantial cost synergies and additional upside from growth synergies.’
The merger transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016.
This story is reprinted from material from Dow and DuPont, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.