Dow Biocides Acquires IPBC Marketing & Registration Assets From Sostram Corporation

Technology Addition Represents Win for Business and Corporate Strategies

Buffalo Grove, Ill.- Dow Biocides, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), today acquired the 3-iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbonate (IPBC) molecule marketing and registration assets of Sostram Corporation which are marketed under the Protram® trademark. The acquisition will allow Dow Biocides to accelerate the growth and geographic expansion of the IPBC molecule to customers who serve the paints and coatings, wood preservation, metalworking fluids and building materials protection industries. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

“This bolt-on molecule acquisition of the leading chemistry for dry film protection illustrates our commitment to finding opportunities that will help us expand our product portfolio, application science and regulatory expertise to grow with customers as the biocide industry leader,” said Mark Henning, general manager of Dow Biocides. “Further, we are making smart investments aligned with the Dow corporate strategic agenda of strengthening performance-based, specialty businesses.”

The Dow Biocides business experienced strong organic growth in 2006 and 2007 and has built winning industry positions and new strategic customer relationships around the world. The Sostram assets include both United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registrations and notifications for the European Biocidal Products Directive (BPD) which will help enable Dow Biocides to accelerate growth with existing and new customers in these key regions and around the world. No people or manufacturing sites will be added to Dow Biocides through the acquisition.

The Protram IPBC products will be transitioned to the FILMGUARD™ trademark for wood and building materials preservation markets and to the BIOBAN™ trademark for all other industries as registrations allow. The assets are expected to be fully integrated into Dow Biocides by the end of the first quarter 2008.

“Dow Biocides goal is to deliver differentiated solutions which create value for the customers,” said Ken Littel, global marketing manager for Dow Biocides materials protection. “As one of the most widely-used fungicides and antimicrobials in the world, IPBC is an excellent addition to our expanding portfolio of biocides. Combined with our leading technologies such as TAUNOVATESM high throughput microbial screening, our extensive variety of actives and leading regulatory knowledge helps us provide our customers with an unparalleled level of service and knowledge of their markets and an opportunity to optimize their biocides use.”