Is Dow Chemical Rushing Rohm & Haas Deal?

Zekauskas said that his hand was forced by falling demand for Dow's plastics from the sour economy as well as the likelihood that Dow will have to ask bank lenders to fill the sudden void caused by the dissolution of its Kuwaiti partnership.

Dow Chemical is no stranger to the world's primary credit markets, but it won't be getting a neighborly welcome when it visits the bank in 2009. Credit markets are still staggering from the hangover caused by their own financial meltdown.

The company brief on Rohm & Haas that analyst John P. McNulty at Credit Suisse filed on Dec. 29 won't make those trips to the lender any easier for Dow. McNulty said that Rohm & Haas shares, currently trading around $64, would probably be selling in the $32-$35 range if the company weren't under contract by Dow for $78 a share.

Shares of Dow Chemical closed Monday at $15.05, down 36 cents, or 2.34%. Rohm & Haas shares closed at $63.82, down 94 cents, or 1.45%.