The Dow Chemical Company and the Bayer Group have reached an agreement for Dow to acquire Bayer’s Wolff Walsrode business group

MIDLAND, Mich./LEVERKUSEN, Germany - The Dow Chemical Company and the Bayer Group have reached an agreement for Dow to acquire Bayer’s Wolff Walsrode business group, primarily involved in cellulose products. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2007, subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

The new business would combine Wolff’s advanced production technology and proficiency in HEMC (hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose) and CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) chemistry with Dow’s leading HPMC (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose) product brands and industry expertise.

Wolff Walsrode, with 2005 revenues of more than US$400 million, would become an integral part of Dow’s Water Soluble Polymers business.