US: Dow Chemical CEO Says DuPont merger to be delayed till next year

Dow Chemical’s chief executive officer said the $59 billion merger with DuPont Co. may be delayed until February from a planned closing late this year, as European antitrust officials take more time to consider potential competition issues in pesticides and crop seeds.

Regulators’ “greatest concern is agriculture,” Dow’s Andrew Liveris said Monday in an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait in New York. “One of the strongest lobbies in the world out there is the farm lobby, and in Europe, the agricultural sector is very, very critical to them, somewhat protected.”

Shareholders in the two largest US chemical companies approved the 50-50 merger in June and Dow Chief Financial Officer Howard Ungerleider said in July that the merger was on track to close by the end of the year. The European Commission this month delayed its decision deadline until Feb. 6 as it sought additional information about the transaction. Liveris said the value created by the deal made the wait worthwhile.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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