Cargill buys out Dow

Cargill has agreed to acquire Dow Chemical’s interest in Cargill Dow LLC, the 50-50 joint venture formed in 1997 to commercialize polylactic acid biopolymers. Terms were not disclosed and the transaction is subject to regulatory approval in Europe.
Cargill is the original inventor of PLA, a polymer derived from natural plant sugars and marketed by the joint venture as Nature Works PLA and Ingeo fibers. Nature Works is used in a variety of packaging applications by companies seeking plastics made from a renewable resource. Ingeo fibers are used in fiberfill applications such as pillows, mattress pads and blankets.
Cargill’s natural polymer business employs 230 people in Minnetonka, MN and Blair, NB.