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Dow Chemical, Loeb's Third Point settle board debate - Yahoo News

There was a big segment of CNBC about the story below. Also mentioned the
CEO of Sotheby’s resigned.


A


Arlene Busch

202-333-1880

abusch@rosemontseneca.com


*From:* Eric Schwerin [mailto:eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com]
*Sent:* Friday, November 21, 2014 12:54 PM
*To:* Hunter Biden; Arlene Busch; Joan Peugh
*Subject:* Dow Chemical, Loeb's Third Point settle board debate - Yahoo News


Eric D. Schwerin

Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC

1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW

Suite 705

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(202) 333-1880

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http://news.yahoo.com/dow-chemical-loebs-third-point-settle-board-debate-155510380--sector.html
Dow Chemical, Loeb's Third Point settle board debate

(Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co <DOW.N> said it would add four independent
directors to its board as part of an agreement with Daniel Loeb's hedge
fund, Third Point LLC, avoiding a proxy battle.

Shares of the largest U.S. chemical company rose as much as 4.5 percent in
early trading on Friday.

The four new directors will be among Dow's nominees for election at the
2015 annual meeting. The company has also agreed to reduce the size of its
board to 12 members from 13 before its 2016 annual meeting.

Dow said Third Point, one of its biggest investors with a 2 percent stake,
has signed a one-year standstill agreement with the company.

The $17.5 billion hedge fund was considering a proxy contest after
negotiations with Dow over board seats broke down, Reuters had reported on
Thursday.

The fund is known for pushing companies, including Yahoo Inc <YHOO.O> and
Sotheby's <BID.N>, to perform better.

Loeb, one of the hedge fund industry's most closely watched investors, has
been pushing Dow to spin off its lucrative but slow-growing petrochemical
business and focus on specialty materials.

He had suggested that Dow's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization could rise by about $2.5 billion a year if it focused on
selling basic petrochemicals such as ethylene and propylene on the open
market rather than using them to make foams, glues and other consumer
products.

The company, however, defended its strategy of using its commoditized raw
materials businesses to keep costs down.

A number of chemical companies, including DuPont <DD.N>, have come under
investor pressure to separate less stable businesses and raise shareholder
returns.

Dow's stock, which had risen 16 percent up to Thursday's close this year,
was up 3.2 percent at $53.13 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. It
had touched a high of $53.79 earlier this year.

(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh and Kanika Sikka in Bangalore; Editing by
Joyjeet Das