Dow, DuPont on Track for Merger Approval From EU Regulators -- Update
February 22 2017 - 12:52PM
Dow Jones News
By Natalia Drozdiak
BRUSSELS -- Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. are on track to win
regulatory approval from the European Union's competition watchdog
after the companies offered to sell businesses to ease antitrust
concerns, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
The European Commission, the bloc's antitrust regulator, is
poised to clear the deal on the basis of the remedies the companies
offered, although the decision isn't yet completed and some aspects
could still change, the people said.
Dow Chemical shares are trading up 4.26%, DuPont shares are up
3.98%.
In early February, Dow and DuPont offered to dispose of a
portion of DuPont's crop protection business and associated
research and development, as well as Dow's acid copolymers and
ionomers business.
In response, the EU's antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager
suggested she thought the remedies could work.
The EU had given itself until April 4 to decide on the deal,
though a green-light could come shortly before that deadline.
Shares in both Dow and DuPont rose around 4% after news of the
deal's likely clearance.
The EU antitrust regulator is weighing the Dow-DuPont deal
alongside other large deals in the agrochemical industry including
China National Chemical Corp.'s takeover of Swiss pesticide maker
Syngenta AG and Bayer AG's planned acquisition of U.S. seed maker
Monsanto Co.
The Dow-DuPont merger, announced in December 2015, would unite
the two giants, creating a business with a combined market
capitalization of roughly $120 billion, before splitting into three
separate companies
The Dow-DuPont deal still needs clearance from U.S. authorities.
The companies in February said they expect the deal to close in the
first half of the year, with the intended spin offs to take place
around 18 months later.
Jacob Bunge in Chicago contributed to this article
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 22, 2017 12:37 ET (17:37 GMT)
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