MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Chemical Company has announced an increased divestiture target aligned to further enhance the value of its portfolio and support the company’s market-driven, integrated strategy, reported the company on its site.
On track to complete its goal of realizing USD4.5 billion to USD6 billion in proceeds by year-end 2015, and with additional portfolio management actions underway, Dow is now increasing its divestiture target to USD7 billion to USD8.5 billion to be complete by mid-2016. Since 2013, the company has generated USD2.5 billion in proceeds, reallocating this capital to remunerate shareholders, fund growth and reduce debt.
"As part of our ongoing process to drive value through a best owner mindset and using economic value add as our lens, we are consistently looking across our portfolio to identify additional sources of long-term value creation and maximize the returns on the capital we invest," said Andrew N. Liveris, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our focus on continuously and increasingly rewarding shareholders is at the core of every decision and action we take."
Dow continues to assess opportunities to enhance the value created across its portfolio, including rationalizing its position in major joint ventures and divesting Dow businesses that, while valuable, no longer align with Dow's integration strategy.
In line with this strategy, and as MRC wrote earlier, Dow plans to reduce its equity position in all of its Kuwait joint ventures, which will release capital for other strategic purposes including shareholder remuneration. The company also announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the divestiture of its ANGUS Chemical business for USD1.215 billion in net proceeds.
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. As of 2007, it is the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue (after BASF) and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization (after BASF and DuPont). Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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