Dow, DuPont on Track for Merger Approval From EU Regulators -- Update

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 [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 22, 2017 12:37 ET (17:37 GMT)

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