Dow Europe Exploring Divestiture Options for Synthetic Rubber Business

Dow Europe GmbH (“Dow”), a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, has announced that it is exploring divestiture options for its Synthetic Rubber business. Dow has engaged
J.P. Morgan to act as financial adviser in support of this effort.

The exploration of strategic options for the business is driven by Dow’s ongoing efforts to streamline and improve the company’s portfolio of businesses. Dow’s Synthetic Rubber business has been, and continues to be, a profitable business and will remain sharply focused on effectively managing operations and delivering exceptional value to customers during this period.

The business is a global leader in the production and distribution of synthetic rubbers, with a broad portfolio of products, from mature rubber materials to specialized high performance elastomers. Dow has a long history of industry leadership in rubber polymers solutions, offering leading-edge technologies, innovative solutions and high performance standards.

The business has been working closely with leading tire manufacturers to develop new types of rubber for low rolling resistance, which will lead to lower fuel consumption and less CO² emissions in vehicles. In addition to tires, synthetic rubber produced by Dow also is used in plastic modification and technical rubber goods such as hoses, conveyor belts, and footwear.

The business is strategically located in central Germany to access all key markets for synthetic rubber, and includes five production plants and a research center in Schkopau, Germany.