Dallas, Texas 12/04/2013 (Financialstrend) – The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) , the diversified chemical maker, based in Michigan, is reportedly slated to sell-off the majority stake in its chlorine business. This business is its oldest operating segment. The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) is planning to gravitate away from the diversified product lineup. In exchange of that it will focus on the company’s higher-growth segments that are less prone to volatility in comparison to the commodity-price-sensitive materials businesses.
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) plans on shuttering around 800,000 tons of chlorine-capacity from the company’s production facility located in Freeport, Texas. In total, the company plans on selling or divesting its commodity-chemical assets that are worth up-to $4B over the next 18- 24 months.
The company’s Chief Executive officer, Andrew Liveris said that moving out of their oldest and longest-standing business is a definite indication that they are now prioritizing their capital on higher margins and on the more consistent earnings-growth businesses. There are also some reports that the company is planning on divesting its brine and epoxy businesses. This showcases The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) ‘s commitment to bringing down its exposure to the swings in commodity prices.
Tuesday’s trading
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) combines the power of science & technology to innovate in various products that are essential to the human progress. In Tuesday’s trading session, The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) dipped by 3.15%. The shares had an opening price of $39.81, which rose to the intraday high of $39.87 and headed to close at $38.72. Around 10.89 million shares were exchanged on Tuesday and an average-volume of 6.91 million shares were exchanged over 30 days. The 52-week low of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) shares is $29.03 and the 52-week high is $41.74. The company has a market capitalization of $46.96 billion.
