Dow Sells Chlorine Business

$5 billion deal relieves company of legacy product, allows firm to own 50.5 percent of Olin while also getting 3 seats on its board of directors

Dow Chemical Co. agreed to sell almost all of its chlorine business, the world’s largest, to Olin Corp. in a $5 billion deal as it pares less profitable products.

The transaction will leave Dow investors holding 50.5 percent of the enlarged Olin, while Olin shareholders will own the rest, the companies said Friday in a statement.

The move also means Dow Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris is set to exceed his target of selling $7 billion to $8.5 billion of assets. The company is focusing on value-added products such as genetically modified corn seed and plastics for autos and packaging.

Dow was founded in 1897 as a producer of bleach, which is made from chlorine. Chlorine, in turn, is produced in tandem with caustic soda by running electricity through brine, the kind of cyclical, low-margin activity the company has sought to divest in recent years.

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