Midland, MI - September 30, 2009
Union Carbide Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), has completed the divestiture of its ownership in the OPTIMAL Group of Companies (OPTIMAL) to Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) for an equity value of $660 million.
Under a commercial supply agreement, Dow will continue serving its current customer base in much of Asia Pacific with basic and performance chemicals products manufactured by OPTIMAL.
The proceeds from this transaction will be used for further debt reduction, in-line with the Company's de-leveraging plan.
Dow's divestiture of OPTIMAL follows other actions designed to increase Dow's financial flexibility, improve its cash flow, and reduce debt.
About The Dow Chemical Company (parent company of Union Carbide Corporation)
For Editorial Information:
Bob Plishka
The Dow Chemical Company
+1 989 638 2288
