For Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com), justice was three years in coming, but on 24 May 2012 the international court of arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled in favour of the US group in its breach of contract case against Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC, Sabahiya; www.pic.com.kw). Dow was awarded damages of USD 2.16 bn, not including interest and costs.

The case dates back to 2009 when three days before the petrochemical and plastics joint venture K-Dow was scheduled to start trading on 1 January PIC backed out, leaving Dow in the lurch – see Plasteurope.com of 07.01.2009. The court award “brings resolution and closure to the issue,” said Dow CEO Andrew Liveris. “We remain focused on continuing to move forward with our transformation and profitable business partnerships – both in Kuwait and around the world” – he added. Active in the Middle East country for nearly 40 years, the US group has two other partnerships there.

K-Dow would have included the two existing jvs, all of Dow’s polyethylene business and much of its cracker capacity. As part of the creation of the new company, first agreed in 2007, PIC was to pay Dow USD 7.5 bn for shares in several of its businesses – see Plasteurope.com of 04.12.2008. The US group had planned to use some of the proceeds to fund its USD 15.4 bn acquisition of Rohm & Haas, simultaneously in progress. The collapse of the Kuwait deal led to delayed payment and a later resolved breach of contract suit against Dow by Rohm & Haas.