Midland, Mich. – Only days after announcing that it’s not in talks involving a leveraged buyout, Dow Chemical Co. has shown the door to a senior adviser and a company officer, accusing them of trying to negotiate a deal behind the company’s back.
Senior adviser Pedro Reinhard, who retired as the chemical giant’s chief financial officer in October 2005, and Romeo Kreinberg, a divisional executive vice president, were dismissed with the approval of the board of directors, Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical chairman and chief executive, said Thursday.
Reinhard remains a member of the board because only shareholders, not management, can remove directors.
“The values of integrity and respect for people are at the very core of our company,” Liveris said in a written statement. “I think I speak for all employees when I say we are greatly saddened by the disrespect shown by our former colleagues. But we will move on to shape our future with an even greater resolve to execute our strategy and deliver value to our shareholders.”
The statement said Reinhard and Kreinberg had “engaged in business activity that was highly inappropriate and a clear violation of Dow’s Code of Business Conduct.”
Chris Huntley, a spokesman for Dow Chemical, said the two men were “involved in discussions with other parties about acquiring the company. This wasn’t them talking on behalf of the company. We had no knowledge that these discussions were going on.”
On Monday, Dow Chemical issued a statement saying it “has had no discussion about a leveraged buyout.”
