Early Friday, Dow Chemical Co. and DuPoint Co. — two of the oldest companies in the U.S. — announced plans to merge, creating a company valued at about $130 billion. The company, to be called DowDuPont, would then be split into three companies, respectively focused on agricultural products (pesticides and seed), material science (plastics), and specialty products. The merger is being sold as a partnership of equals, with shareholders of each chemical giant holding 50 percent of the shares of the combined company.
Dow CEO Andrew Liveris will be executive chairman, while DuPoint CEO Edward Preen, a turnaround specialist who took the company's helm just months ago, will be chief executive. Regulators and each company's board have to approve the merger, and if they do, the companies say the deal will be completed by the second half of 2016. The proposed merger is one of the largest in what's already a record-breaking year for takeovers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visasspeed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
'The benefits of such a program go beyond just the data'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
May 28 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include the Big Beautiful Bill's impact on Medicare and Medicaid, Donald Trump and JD Vance plotting in the Oval Office, Russia's expansionist plans, and Trump's phone call with Vladimir Putin.
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
