Dupont and Dow to merge

DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company announced on December 11, 2015, that they will merge, with the combined company to be named DowDuPont.

The parties intend to subsequently pursue a separation of DowDuPont into three independent, publicly-traded companies through tax-free spin-offs, to occur within 24-months after the merger closes.

The companies will include a leading global pure-play Agriculture company; a leading global pure-play Material Science company; and a leading technology and innovation-driven Specialty Products company, with each having a clear focus, an appropriate capital structure, a distinct and compelling investment thesis, scale advantages, and focused investments in innovation to better deliver superior solutions and choices for customers.

Intended separation into three companies
It is the intention of both companies’ boards of directors that, following the merger, DowDuPont would pursue a tax-free separation into three independent, publicly traded companies with each targeting an investment grade credit rating. Each would be a strong, focused business with powerful innovation capabilities, enhanced global scale and product portfolios, focused capital allocation, and a distinct competitive position. The three businesses that the boards intend to separate are:

• Agriculture Company: Leading global pure-play agriculture company that unites DuPont’s and Dow’s seed and crop protection businesses. The combined entity will have the most comprehensive and diverse portfolio and a robust pipeline with exceptional growth opportunities in the near-, mid- and long-term. The complementary offerings of the two companies will provide growers across geographies with a broad portfolio of solutions and greater choice. Combined pro forma 2014 revenue for Agriculture is approximately $19 billion;
• Material Science Company: A pure-play industrial leader, consisting of DuPont’s Performance Materials segment, as well as Dow’s Performance Plastics, Performance Materials and Chemicals, Infrastructure Solutions, and Consumer Solutions (excluding the Dow Electronic Materials business) operating segments. The combination of complementary capabilities will create a low-cost, innovation-driven leader that can provide customers in high-growth, high-value industry segments in packaging, transportation, and infrastructure solutions, among others with a broad and deep portfolio of cost-effective offerings. Combined pro forma 2014 revenue for Material Science is approximately $51 billion;
• Specialty Products Company: A technology driven innovative leader, focused on unique businesses that share similar investment characteristics and specialty market focus. The businesses will include DuPont’s Nutrition & Health, Industrial Biosciences, Safety & Protection and Electronics & Communications, as well as the Dow Electronic Materials business. Together, their complementary offerings create a new global leader in Electronics Products, and each business will benefit from more targeted investment in their productive technology development and innovation capabilities. Combined pro forma 2014 revenue for Specialty Products is approximately $13 billion.

“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,” saysDow chairman and chief executive officer Andrew N. Liveris. “Over the last decade our entire industry has experienced tectonic shifts as an evolving world presented complex challenges and opportunities – requiring each company to exercise foresight, agility and focus on execution. This transaction is a major accelerator in Dow’s ongoing transformation, and through this we are creating significant value and three powerful new companies. This merger of equals significantly enhances the growth profile for both companies, while driving value for all of our shareholders and our customers.”

DuPont chairman and chief executive officer Edward D. Breen says, “This is an extraordinary opportunity to deliver long-term, sustainable shareholder value through the combination of two highly complementary global leaders and the creation of three strong, focused, industry-leading businesses. Each of these businesses will be able to allocate capital more effectively, apply its powerful innovation more productively, and extend its value-added products and solutions to more customers worldwide.”

He continues: “For DuPont, this is a definitive leap forward on our path to higher growth and higher value. This merger of equals will create significant near-term value through substantial cost synergies and additional upside from growth synergies. Longer term, the three-way split we intend to pursue is expected to unlock even greater value for shareholders and customers and more opportunity for employees as each business will be a leader in attractive segments where global challenges are driving demand for these businesses’ distinctive offerings.”

Advisory Committees will be established for each of the three businesses. Breen will lead the Agriculture and Specialty Products Committees, and Liveris will lead the Material Science Committee. These Committees will oversee the respective businesses, and will work with Liveris and Breen on the intended separation of the businesses into independent, standalone entities.

Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company would be named DowDuPont and have a combined market capitalization of approximately $130-billion at announcement.

The transaction is expected to deliver approximately $3-billion in cost synergies, with 100 percent of the run-rate cost synergies achieved within the first 24 months following the closing of the transaction. Additional upside of approximately $1-billion is expected from growth synergies.

Management, Governance and Corporate HQ
Upon completion of the transaction, Liveris will become executive chairman of the newly formed DowDuPont Board of Directors and Breen will become chief executive officer of DowDuPont. In these roles, both Liveris and Breen will report to the Board of Directors. In addition, when named, the chief financial officer will report to Breen.

DowDuPont’s board is expected to have 16 directors, consisting of eight current DuPont directors and eight current Dow directors. The full list of directors will be announced prior to or in conjunction with the closing of the merger. The Committees of each company will appoint the leaders of the three new standalone companies prior to a contemplated spin-off.

Following the closing of the transaction, DowDuPont will be dual headquartered in Midland, Michigan and Wilmington, Delaware.

The merger transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016.

ABOUT DOW
Dow’s integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high-growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2014, Dow had annual sales of more than $58 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 35 countries across the globe. More information about Dow at www.dow.com.

ABOUT DuPONT
DuPont has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders, it can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont, visit www.dupont.com.

Image from http://www.thinkstockphotos.ca/