Dow Chemical Company (DOW) will reconfigure and reduce its equity base in the MEGlobal and Greater EQUATE joint ventures, including The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC) and The Kuwait Styrene Company (TKSC) in line with its prior announcement to rationalize its investments in certain joint ventures.

Dow expects this transition to be completed by mid-2015. While Dow will retain a substantial stake in these partnerships, this effort will open opportunities for new investment in these successful and growing enterprises.

Dow remains committed to maximizing the overall value of both MEGlobal and the Greater EQUATE joint ventures to further enhance their already demonstrated strong value and performance.

According to Andrew N. Liveris, Dow's chairman and chief executive officer DOW plans to reduce its equity position in MEGlobal and Equate. This strategic action allows DOW to redeploy capital to more strategic purposes, while still maintaining our commitment to these industry-leading joint ventures.

MEGlobal is a world leader in the manufacture and marketing of monoethylene glycol and diethylene glycol (EG), and is headquartered in Dubai, UAE. Established in July 2004, MEGlobal currently markets over 2.5 million metric tons of EG per year globally.

EQUATE, established in 1995, operates an integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing more than 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products, including polyethylene, ethylene, and EG.

"We have been reviewing every aspect of our joint venture portfolio through our best-owner mindset, with the primary objective of identifying opportunities to deliver further value to our shareholders,"