NEW YORK — (CNN) Maybe we can start calling them the “chemical brothers.”

Dow Chemical and DuPont are reportedly considering a massive $120 billion merger. And investors are thrilled. Shares in both companies are soaring by about 8% in premarket trading.

The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported overnight that the chemical companies are talking about combining their operations, then splitting themselves up again into three separate businesses. Both reports cited unnamed people familiar with the negotiations.

DuPont and Dow both declined to comment on “rumors and speculations.”

Delaware-based DuPont and Michigan-based Dow Chemical are both worth about $58 billion.

They employ tens of thousands of workers producing chemicals and plastics that are used in a range of industries, from agriculture to electronics.

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