FTC Seeks Comment on The Dow Chemical Company's Petition to Divest Its Acrylic Acid and Latex Polymers Businesses to Arkema Inc.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a petition from The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) requesting approval to divest its acrylic acid and latex polymers businesses to Arkema Inc., pursuant to a March 2009 Commission consent order. The FTC order was issued to resolve competitive concerns raised by the merger of Dow with Rohm & Haas, and required Dow to divest a range of assets to an FTC-approved acquirer, including its acrylic monomer, hollow sphere particle, and acrylic latex polymer businesses. To comply with parts of order, Dow has petitioned the Commission to permit it to divest its acrylic acid and latex polymers businesses to Arkema Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Arkema Group.

The Commission is accepting public comments on the petition for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through September 14, 2009. To file a comment, please click on the following hyperlink: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/08/C4243publiccomment.pdf and follow the instructions at that site. All comments will be posted on the Commission’s Web site and become part of the public record. (FTC Docket No. C-4243; the staff contact is Roberta S. Baruch, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2861; see press release dated September January 23, 2009, at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/01/dow.shtm.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site 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.