Insiders say these are the 10 most transformative M&A deals of the decade

AP Photo/Richard Drew

In 2015, Dow and DuPont each existed as separate, publicly traded heavyweight chemical companies. Today, they also exist as separate, publicly traded heavyweight chemical companies.

In between, they briefly joined together in a $130 billion merger — the second-largest in history — combining two brands founded in the 1800s into a giant with $90 billion in revenues and dozens of business lines, ranging from specialty chemicals and agriculture to performance plastics and industrial biosciences.

This was the plan from the get-go: Combine the two conglomerates, shake up all ingredients, and pour them into three separate, more appetizing tumblers for investors to sip on.

Alas, merger mixology is more fraught than cocktail mixology, and this would’ve been one of the most complicated transactions in corporate history even before it attracted unprecedented attention from activist investors with their own thoughts on the proper recipe.

Both Dow and DuPont were sparring with hedge funds prior to their tie-up. Trian Management started lobbying for a DuPont breakup in 2013, ultimately losing a narrow proxy battle for board seats in early 2015. Third Point began pressing Dow for changes in early 2014, winning a board reconfiguration later that year.

After DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman retired in October 2015, the two companies opened merger discussions, and by December they announced a deal that hoped to reap $3 billion from cuts.

If the companies thought that would rid them of their meddlesome investors, they were mistaken. As the intricate post-merger carve up unfolded, the number of activists doubled to four.

By 2017, Glenview Management, Jana Partners, Third Point, and Trian were all criticising the DowDuPont breakup, lobbying for more fat trimming from the component parts.

The dust has only just begun to settle this year. By June of 2019, DowDuPont had split into three publicly traded entities: Dow, focused on commodity chemicals for silicone, plastics, and paint; DuPont, a manufacturer of specialty chemicals for cars, adhesives, and various consumer goods; and Corteva, a new brand geared toward agricultural products.