Daniel Fisher, Shale-Elujah. Bad timing and the financial meltdown almost killed Dow Chemical. And then Daniel Loeb put a bull’s-eye on CEO Andrew Liveris. Two saviors have now arrived: Warren Buffett and shale gas.
www.forbes.com/sites/danielfishe ... nd-at-dow-chemical/
Quote
(a) "Dow Chemical’s 7,000-acre complex on the Gulf Coast in Freeport, Tex, at the mouth of the Brazos River * * * The bustling site, surrounded by marshland and waterways, is crowned by a 360-foot propane dehydrogenization tower, which is crawling with construction workers and next year will start converting cheap propane from fracked natural gas wells into hundreds of thousands of tons a year of raw materials for everything from house paint to automotive epoxy.
(b) "founder Herbert H Dow started [Dow Chemical] in 1897 to produce bleach
(c) "Other parts of Liveris’ strategy didn’t go so well. He negotiated a top-of-the-market price for Rohm & Haas in 2008 to get hold of the Philadelphia company’s specialized products, including electrical components used in cellphones. “We’ve basically been trying to fix [the acquisition] ever since,” admits Liveris.
"Luckily he had Warren Buffett on his side. Liveris says he originally met the billionaire over a three-hour lunch at Buffett’s country club in Omaha in 2008, soon after Berkshire Hathaway had invested $6.5 billion to help Mars complete its $23 billion takeover of Wrigley. Liveris figured he might need help on a future deal. “When you buy something, let me know,” Buffett had said.
"A few months later when Liveris was in a pinch, he called Buffett seeking money for the Rohm & Haas takeover. Buffett ultimately invested $3 billion in 8.5% preferred stock that Dow could convert into common when its price passed $53 a share. After a long wait Dow is now close to being in a position to convert Buffett’s shares and shave an estimated $255 million a year in costs.
Note:
(a)
(i) The title is a wordplay on
hallelujah (interjection; Hebrew hallĕlūyāh praise (ye) the Lord)
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hallelujah
(ii) If you google “elujah,” you will see this (title) is not the first.
(b) Freeport, Texas
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeport,_Texas
(c) Dow Chemical CEO bought "specialty chemicals maker Rohm & Haas."
Rohm & Haas
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohm_and_Haas
(founded in Esslingen [near Stuttgart], Germany, by Dr. Otto Röhm and Mr Otto Haas in 1907)
(d) "Liveris, 60, the son of Greek immigrants who speaks with the Australian accent of his youth and enjoys the occasional bottle of Mollydooker Shiraz blend"
Andrew N Liveris
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_N._Liveris
(1954- ; born in Darwin, Australia; Liveris' 37-year Dow career began in 1976 in Melbourne, Australia; Dow Chemical CEO 2004- )
(e) "In January Daniel Loeb of Third Point LLC disclosed an estimated $1.3 billion position in Dow stock. On May 1 he issued a scathing report accusing Liveris of squandering capital by manufacturing everything from bulk chemicals to plastics to agricultural products at one company."
Daniel S Loeb
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_S._Loeb
(1961- ; an American hedge fund manager)
(f) "Liveris might have gotten some of his ability to navigate swiftly changing waters from his Greek ancestors, who for generations inhabited the island of Kastellorizo, off the coast of Turkey. Liveris’ grandfather, a laborer, immigrated to Australia during World War I and later brought along his family to the Outback town of Darwin, where his grandmother washed miners’ clothes for a living."
Kastellorizo
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kastellorizo
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发表于 11-19-2014 19:52:09
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