DOW CHEM MAY SELL ITS MMD STAKE

Dow Chemical has reported that it may consider selling its 72% stake in the drug company Marion Merrell Dow, which the chemical firm acquired less than five years ago. A spokesperson for Dow Chemical said that it would be "willing to look at the possibility of a sale."

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, although Douglas Draper, a spokesman for Dow Chemical, declined to comment on whether the company was in talks with a prospective buyer, the statement of intent represents an about-face for Dow and may even represent an admission that the acquisition in 1989 was in fact a mistake.

Paul Raman, an industry analyst with S G Warburg & Co, said that it was a question of Dow cutting its losses, noting that MMD "has not produced a good rate of return on the initial investment."