Size of Dow, Kuwait PIC dispute delays decision - Liveris

02 February 2012 18:34  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--A decision over Dow Chemical's dispute with Kuwait-based Petrochemical Industries Corp (PIC) is taking so long to arrive because of the large size of the case, the CEO of the US-based company said on Thursday.

The dispute concerns the two companies' failed plastics joint venture, K-Dow. Following the collapse of the deal, Dow entered arbitration proceedings.

Dow is seeking more than $2.5bn (€1.9bn) in damages, according to a regulatory filing it made in 2009.

"This is just a very big case," said Dow CEO Andrew Liveris during an earnings conference call.

When asked why a decision has been so long in coming, Liveris said it was "the enormity of the case from a legal point of view".

"We don't control the time, but it's days and weeks, not months," he said without elaborating.

The failed K-Dow joint venture dates to December 2007, when Dow and PIC announced the agreement to create the company.

To form the joint venture, PIC would have paid $9.5bn for a 50% share in five of Dow's global businesses worth approximately $19bn.

Dow intended to use the proceeds from the K-Dow deal to help fund its $18.8bn acquisition of Rohm and Haas.

PIC then allegedly broke its joint-venture agreement to buy 50% of Dow's plastics business, according to a regulatory filing. Private negotiations failed to salvage the deal.

Following the collapse of the K-Dow deal, Dow missed a deadline to close on the Rohm and Haas acquisition, which later resulted in a lawsuit.

Ultimately, Dow resolved the lawsuit with Rohm and Haas, and the merger closed on 1 April 2009.

($1 = €0.76)

By: Al Greenwood
+1 713 525 2645

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