Markets Wired

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved an application by the Dow Chemical Company to amend an agreement related to its 2001 acquisition of Union Carbide Corporation. In order to obtain FTC approval for the merger, Dow entered into a consent agreement designed to remedy the alleged anticompetitive effects of the deal, including an agreement under which Dow agreed to sell its ethyleneamines business to Huntsman International LLC. Ethyleneamines are a family of chemicals used in a variety of applications, including lubricating oil additives, epoxy curing agents, personal care products, pulp and paper products, and fungicides.

As part of the sale, the agreement required Dow to separate the environmental systems of the ethyleneamines business from other systems at its Freeport, Texas, site. In December 2010, Dow entered into the proposed “Deep Well Amendment” with Huntsman. According to the application, the proposed amendment reflects an understanding between Dow and Huntsman regarding a joint wastewater treatment project at the Freeport site. In its application, Dow stated that the proposed Deep Well Amendment is consistent with the FTC’s order and should be approved.

The Commission vote approving the application was 5-0. (FTC File No. 991-0301, Docket No. C-3999; the staff contact is Roberta S. Baruch, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2861; see press release dated February 5, 2001.)

Copies of the document mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s website at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.

(FYI 21.2011.wpd)