Dow Chemical's Stock Jumps After Deal To Separate Chlorine Business, Merge It With Olin

Shares of Dow Chemical Co. ran up 6.3% in premarket trade Friday, after the chemical giant announced an agreement to separate a significant portion of its chlorine business and merge it with Olin Corp. in a deal valued at $5 billion. The deal includes $2 billion in cash, about $2.2 billion in Olin common stock and about $800 million of assumed pension and other liabilities. Dow shareholders will end up receiving 50.5% of Olin's shares. Olin's stock was up 4.8% in light premarket trade. Year to date, Dow's stock has gained 1.8% through Thursday and Olin's has climbed 19%, while the S&P 500 has eased 0.1%.