By The Associated Press
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Dow Chemical Co. on Thursday said it will sell its powder coatings business to Amsterdam-based Akzo Nobel NV for an undisclosed amount.
The move advances the chemical company's strategy of shedding noncore assets in an effort to reduce debt from its $16.5 billion acquisition of Rohm and Haas in April. Since the deal closed, Dow has moved aggressively to cull debt, cut jobs and close plants. Dow had planned to use proceeds from a $17.4 billion joint venture with a state-owned Kuwaiti company to fund the Rohm and Haas acquisition, but that deal fell through last December.
Dow said its divestiture activities are on target to yield more than $3.5 billion.
The sale of its powder coatings business is expected to close in the second quarter of 2010.
Shares of Dow jumped $1.80, or 6.7 percent to $28.50 in morning trading.
