Dow and Rohm merger far from typical according to analyst

Dow Chemical wrapped up its acquisition of Philadelphia-based Rohm & Haas this week. The Michigan-based company promised to maintain a strong presence in the city, and in July agreed to give Rohm & Haas executives two spots on the Board.  Dow has not done that. The Dow deal with Rohm and Haas has been many things, but not typical.

Transcript:
The merger grew tense when the Dow Chemical Company asked for more time when the economy went south.  Rohm & Haas took the issue to court and eventually forced Dow to finalize the deal.

Robert Field is a professor at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He says the merger has been unusual because of the litigation, and Dow's unsuccessful attempt to back out.

Field: "There's a lot of reasons why they've taken this step of excluding Rohm & Haas officials from their Board.  Part of it is undoubtedly animosity over the lawsuit, part of it is to keep Rohm & Haas from having too much of a continuing say in the operations of the company."

Field says Dow is focused on integrating the core chemical business of Rohm & Haas. Products that can be used in electronics and paints. And when it rains, it pours, as Dow unloaded one of the more profitable units of Rohm & Haas – Morton Salt.

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