Page 40 - Plastics News July 2017

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Dow and DuPont receive antitrust clearance from U.S. Dept of

Justice

uPont and The Dow Chemical Company have reached a The companies are working constructively with regulators
Dproposed agreement with the Antitrust Division of the in the remaining jurisdictions to obtain clearance for
United States Department of Justice (DOJ) that will permit the merger and are making progress in fulfilling the
the companies to proceed with their proposed merger of requirements of the conditional approvals that have
equals. “We are very pleased that the DOJ has approved already been received.
this transaction,” said Andrew Liveris, Dow's chairman
and chief executive officer. "With today’s DOJ clearance, China initiates anti dumping
we have taken investigations against S.Korea,
a significant
step forward in Taiwan, US
bringing together hina's Ministry of Commerce has initiated
these two iconic Cantidumping investigations on styrene monomer
enterprises, and imports from South Korea, Taiwan and the US,
in the subsequent following a recent petition filed by Chinese SM
intended producers, as per a ministry statement. The
separation into investigations came on the heels of a notice sent to
South Korea's embassy in Beijing dated June 12,. The
three leading, petition was filed collectively on May 25 by six Chinese
independent innovation-based science companies that SM producers, namely Changzhou Donghao Chemical,
will generate significant benefits for all stakeholders." Tianjin Dagu Chemical, Jiangsu Leasty Chemical, New
Solar, Ningbo Keyuan Plastic and Shandong Shengyuan
Ed Breen, chair and chief executive officer of DuPont, said, Petrochemical. They are further supported by 6
“With this review completed, we are on track to close other major private and state enterprises including
our pro competitive merger in a manner that maintains PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical, PetroChina
the strategic logic and value creation potential of the Dushanzi Petrochemical, Shandong Heze Yuhuang
transaction. Going forward, the intended subsequent Chemical and Shanghai Secco Petrochemical.
spin-offs are expected to unlock significant value for The statement acknowledged that the six producers
shareholders, as we execute our plan for each company as well as the 6 companies supporting the petition
to be a growth-oriented leader in attractive segments collectively produced more than 50% of China's total
where global challenges are generating strong demand SM output in each of the last four years starting 2013,
for their distinctive offerings.” In connection with the and hence the petition is legitimate and congruent
proposed agreement and consistent with commitments with China's current antidumping guidelines. The
already made to obtain the European Commission’s investigations, covering SM imports from South Korea,
regulatory approval, DuPont will divest certain parts Taiwan and the US over January 1-December 31, 2016,
of its crop protection portfolio and Dow will divest its are expected to be concluded before June 23, 2018
global Ethylene Acrylic Acid copolymers and ionomers but may be extended to December 23, 2018 under
business. The proposed agreement with the DOJ, which special circumstances. According to reports China
remains subject to court approval, does not require the imported 3.5 mln mt of SM last year, of which 1.23
companies to make any additional divestitures. With mln, or 35%, came from South Korea -- making it the
largest SM supplier to China, according to Chinese
this agreement, no further approvals are required in the customs data. Meanwhile, China's total SM demand has
U.S. for the merger to close. The companies reiterated gradually increased from 8.49 mln mt in 2013 to 9.1
that the merger transaction is expected to generate mln mt in 2016, at an average annual growth rate of
cost synergies of approximately US$3 bln and growth 2.38%. China's domestic styrene monomer production
synergies of approximately US$1 bln. To date, Dow and is currently about 8.39 mln mt/year, according to
DuPont have obtained clearance in many jurisdictions, industry sources, and is expected to rise by 2.3 mln
including approvals in the U.S., Europe, Brazil and China. mt/year to 10.7 mln mt/year by 2019.

Plastics News | July 2017 40