Iowa loses DowDuPont headquarters

The headquarters of the agricultural company that will emerge from the planned merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont will be in Delaware, not Iowa, despite lobbying efforts by state officials over the last several months.

The two companies on Friday said global business centers will be located in Johnston, Iowa, and Indianapolis, Ind. The centers will house leadership of business lines, business support functions, research and development, global supply chain, and sales and marketing.

DuPont Pioneer employs 2,634 at its headquarters and R&D center in Johnston. No job cuts were announced in connection with Friday's announcement, but there may still be reductions due to restructuring.

Dow and DuPont plan to complete their $130 billion merger later this year, pending regulatory approval. The companies plan to split into three separate companies - agriculture, material sciences and specialty products - within two years. Dow and DuPont have indicated they will be looking for $1.3 billion in savings through synergies.

DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler said in a statement that the new agricultural company will be a 'positive” for Iowa, despite the loss of the unit's corporate headquarters to Wilmington, Del.

In a statement, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, expressed disappointment that Johnston was not selected. 'Although the agricultural company will not be headquartered in Iowa, it is my hope that Dow-DuPont will expand and produce more good-paying jobs in our state in the very near future,” Ernst said.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement that the DowDuPont announcement was not what Iowans had hoped for and he will be keeping a close eye on an antitrust review of the proposed merger.

'We are proud that DowDuPont's leadership has selected Iowa as its global business center for its newly formed agriculture company,” said Gov. Terry Branstad. 'For the past few months, we've been in contact with officials at Dow and DuPont and have had the pleasure of showing them what Iowa has to offer, a world-class biosciences company. I am glad to say they agreed.”

The Iowa Economic Development Authority on Friday approved $16 million in incentives for the new DowDuPont agriculture unit. The package includes a $2 million forgivable loan and a maximum of $14 million in research activities tax credits. The tax credits apply for 250 to 500 research and development jobs DowDuPont expects to retain in Johnston. It must keep 500 positions to take advantage of the entire incentive package.