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EU: Dow and DuPont seek to address Brussels’ antitrust concerns

By  |  February 5, 2017

Dow Chemical and DuPont are on the verge of offering to sell research and development capability in response to Brussels’ antitrust concerns over the companies’ planned $140bn merger. The case, which will decide on Tuesday whether to approve the deal, has become a test of European competition regulators’ approach to industrial innovation.

The investigation is the first of three agrichemical megadeals, together worth nearly $250bn, that Margrethe Vestager, EU competition commissioner, will examine this year. Dow and DuPont are seeking to stop the merger being blocked, amid concerns from politicians and consumer groups.

Brussels’ objections to the deal have attracted particular scrutiny, because it marks the first time the commission has threatened to block a deal primarily based on concerns that it could cut innovation in a whole market. Previous antitrust cases have cited a narrower range of risks to product development in specific markets.

Full Content: Financial Times

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