Dow-DuPont wins US antitrust nod to create chemicals giant

Bloomberg

Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. won US antitrust approval for their $73 billion merger, overcoming one of the last remaining hurdles to a deal that would create a global chemicals giant.
The companies said that the assets they agreed to sell to win US approval didn’t go beyond what they had already agreed to with other jurisdictions. DuPont will sell off some of its herbicide and insecticide products and Dow will unload a plastics packaging unit, according to a settlement filed in federal court in Washington.
The so-called merger of equals is among a trio of mega-deals that would reshape the global agrochemicals industry if approved by regulators around the world. Bayer AG is seeking approval to buy Monsanto Co., while China National Chemical Corp.’s agreement to buy Syngenta AG is nearing completion. If cleared, the transactions together would consolidate the industry into four major players, including BASF SE.

PRICE CONCERNS
The deals have drawn complaints from farmers and environmental activists who say the the combined companies’ control of pesticide and seed markets might increase prices for farmers.
The US approval of the Dow-DuPont tie-up follows the European Union’s clearance of the deal in March, when DuPont agreed to divest part of its pesticide business, including research and development. Brazil, China and India have approved the deal, while Canada’s decision is still pending.
The companies said they “are working constructively” with regulators in the remaining jurisdictions.
The new company is to be called DowDuPont Inc. Ed Breen, DuPont’s chairman and chief executive officer, will be CEO of the new company, while Dow’s chairman and CEO, Andrew Liveris, will be chairman.
The EU expressed concern that the combination would have halted work on new chemical products in areas where Dow and DuPont compete head to head. Officials found evidence that the pair would have cut back on the amount they spent on developing products.
Only Bayer, BASF SE and Syngenta match the two firms in discovering, developing and selling agricultural
chemicals.

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