Dow Chemical and Kuwait

Three wrongs won’t make a right for Dow Chemical. It made its first big mistake last summer by agreeing to buy specialty chemicals firm Rohm & Haas for $15.3bn, a steep 74 per cent premium, just before valuations collapsed. It compounded the error by planning to pay in part with proceeds from a $9.5bn cash infusion it expected this month from its K-Dow commodity chemical joint venture with a state-owned Kuwaiti firm. Blindsided by Kuwait’s withdrawal from the deal a month after agreeing to new terms, Dow faces a financing crunch and may be on the verge of committing a third costly mistake.