Dow Chemical Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said that although international regulatory processes for his company's merger with rival are complex and often lengthy, the value prospects are worth the wait.
In a "Squawk on the Street" interview on Thursday, the CEO said that while the company waits for the deal to be processed, it is actually preparing for what's to come.
"We are gaining time on the other parameter, which is readiness. Synergy readiness, organizational readiness and speed to spinning these three businesses out readiness," Liveris said, referring to Dow Chemical's proposed expansion to Europe, Brazil and China in light of the merger.
Dow Chemical reported earnings Thursday that beat analyst estimates, with earnings per share coming in at $0.91 versus estimates of $0.79 and revenue at $12.48 billion versus the predicted $11.95 billion. Growth in Dow's agriculture segment, where sales have been sluggish this year, helped edge revenue growth higher.
Shares of Dow were up nearly 2 percent Thursday morning, trading at $54.78.
The merger with DuPont, which also reported better-than-expected earnings this week, was announced in December 2015. Liveris said that he expects the deal to close, and that its timing will be determined within the next several months.
"A few months in the context of $30 billion in value creation is nothing in the scheme of things," Liveris said.
And, as the companies continue talks with antitrust officials in the states and abroad, Liveris said Dow Chemical's business in China is flourishing amid demand for food safety and quality preservation.
"We're not just chemicals, right, we're materials," the CEO said. "And the materials like packaging films, films that can actually preserve food, in China, those are growing through the roof."
Dow Chemical's earnings report showed plastics sales, Dow's largest segment, rising 0.8% to $4.7 billion.
Pollution in major cities and geographic expansion are driving factors in the company's growth in China, Liveris said, despite the country experiencing lags in other sectors.
"I would agree that there is, in industrial China, in commodity China, in asset-intensive China, there is a slowdown, and there's also a lot of money going into property again," the CEO said. "It's not even."