Dow Sells Out Of Battery Subsidiary
MIDLAND (WWJ) -- Midland's Dow Chemical Co. said late Friday it had sold its interest in Dow Kokam LLC to MBP Investors LLC, a company created by Hunt Valley, Md.-based investors Townsend Ventures.
The transaction makes MBP the majority owner of Dow Kokam, which includes the Midland Battery Park in Michigan and the Lee's Summit Battery Park in Lee's Summit, Mo.
Dow said the sale "algns with Dow's market participation strategy and investment prioritization decisions driven by improving return on capital and total shareholder return." Also, Dow said that it now plans to focus on battery materials, not batteries -- because the company said it sees better margins and growth in components.
Dow Kokam designs and manufactures large format nickel manganese cobalt lithium-ion cells and systems to customers in the fleet transportation, stationary storage, marine, defense and industrial markets.
"Increasing our ownership in Dow Kokam will allow us to bring our market expertise and resources to this business in a way we couldn't do before," said Dennis Townsend, chief executive officer of Townsend Ventures. "The acquisition is a strategic fit with our other battery investments, allowing us to leverage complimentary technologies to position Dow Kokam as a leader in the emerging large-scale energy storage market."
The remaining interests in Dow Kokam are held by TK Advanced Battery LLC (a Townsend affiliate), KA Founders LLC, and Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault. In addition to Dow Kokam, Townsend Ventures also has investments in other related businesses, including Energy Power Systems and AllCell Technologies.
More at www.dow.com or www.townsendventures.com.
