Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. have won conditional antitrust approval from regulators in the U.S. for their proposed $73 billion merger, according to reports.
Similar to the deals the companies previously made with regulators in other countries, certain crop protection products and other assets will be sold off. The companies are still awaiting approval from a few more countries, including Canada and Mexico.
According to the filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the assets that will be sold include DuPont’s Finesse herbicide for winter wheat and Rynaxypyr insecticides, and Dow’s U.S. acid copolymers and ionomers business.
Combined companies to split into three
The proposed deal, announced in December 2015, is said to be an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion. After the merger is complete, the companies have said they will split into three separate companies specializing material sciences, specialty products, and seeds and agrochemicals. The split is expected within 18 months of the closing of the merger, which is set for August.
The new company is to be called DowDuPont Inc. Ed Breen, DuPont’s chairman and CEO, will be CEO of the new company, while Dow’s chairman and CEO, Andrew Liveris, will be chairman.
