Dow Acquires Wolff Walsrode from Bayer

Midland, Michigan and Leverkusen, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Dow Secures Application Expertise and Broader Cellulosics
Offering for End-use Segments The Dow Chemical Company and the
Bayer Group today announced the closing of Dow's acquisition of Wolff
Walsrode. The purchase price of EUR 540 million (approximately USD
725 million) includes a cash component and the assumption of
financial debt and pension commitments. Following regulatory
clearance from various authorities around the world, payment and
share transfers have occurred, and Dow has taken full ownership of
the Wolff Walsrode group of companies on June 30, 2007.

The acquisition will deliver considerable top line synergies for
Dow, driven by application expertise and worldwide growth in demand
for cellulosics. The acquisition is expected to be financially
accretive by the end of the first year of ownership.

"The Wolff transaction marks another important milestone in our
Company's drive to expand and enhance our performance business
portfolio," said Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical
Company. "The acquisition of Wolff Walsrode is our latest example of
how Dow is delivering on a transformational growth strategy. Wolff is
a strategically aligned acquisition that brings new expertise and
customer focus to accelerate Dow's growth in key specialty markets."

For Bayer, the transaction fits with its objectives of securing a
recognized buyer committed to further develop the Wolff Walsrode
business. "With The Dow Chemical Company we found a buyer that offers
promising perspectives for the future of Wolff," said Bayer
management board chairman Werner Wenning. The cash inflows of
approximately EUR 440 million (~USD 590 million) are intended to be
used to reduce Bayer's net debt.

Dow plans to combine Wolff with its Water Soluble Polymers
business to create a new specialty business driven to become the
preferred development partner and premier application expert in the
cellulosics industry. Cellulosics and derivatives are widely used in
formulations for food, personal care, pharmaceuticals, construction,
paint and a variety of specialty industrial applications. The
business will cater to formulators and brand owners whose end product
label claims are underpinned by advanced cellulosics.

About Dow

Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of
innovation, science and technology to constantly improve what is
essential to human progress. The Company offers a broad range of
products and services to customers in more than 175 countries,
helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and
pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products.
Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has
annual sales of US$49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide.
References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company
and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
More information about Dow can be found at http://www.dow.com.

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields
of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. The company's
products and services are designed to benefit people and improve
their quality of life. At the same time Bayer creates value through
innovation, growth and improved earning power. The Group is committed
to the principles of sustainable development and acknowledges and
accepts its role as a socially and ethically responsible "corporate
citizen". Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate
policy objectives of equal rank. In fiscal 2006, Bayer employed
106,000 people and had sales of around euro 29 billion. Capital
expenditures amounted to euro 1.7 billion, the R&D budget to euro 2.3
billion. More information is available on the Internet at
http://www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements from Dow

The forward-looking statements contained in this document involve
risks and uncertainties that may affect The Dow Chemical Company's
operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as
discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
economic, competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors.
Accordingly, there is no assurance that the Dow's expectations will
be realized. Dow assumes no obligation to provide revisions to any
forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as
otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

Forward-Looking Statements from Bayer

This news release contains forward-looking statements based on
current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management.
Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
could lead to material differences between the actual future results,
financial situation, development or performance of the company and
the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in
our public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Form
20-F). The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these
forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or
developments.

Web site: http://www.dow.com
http://www.bayer.com

ots Originaltext: The Dow Chemical Company
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Paul Oakley, +41-44-728-2779, poakley@dow.com, or Terri McNeill,
+1-989-636-5279, tfmcneill@dow.com, both of The Dow Chemical Company;
or Eberhard Wuhle of Wolff Walsrode, +49-5161-44-2203,
eberhard.wuehle.ew@wolff-walsrode.de; or Guenter Forneck of Bayer AG,
+49-214-30-50446, guenter.forneck.gf@bayer-ag.de; Company News
On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/252850.html


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