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US: States join Fed’s antitrust probes of Bayer-Monsanto

By  |  November 8, 2016

Several US state attorneys general will reportedly join the federal antitrust investigations of the pending multibillion dollar deals between DuPont and Dow Chemical and Bayer AG and Monsanto respectively.

Consolidation of these four already massive companies into two juggernauts—not to mention ChemChina’s $43 billion planned combination with chemical and seeds company Syngenta that cleared US scrutiny in August—will completely reshape the global seed and pesticide markets. If the deals are approved, Dow Chemical and DuPont will create one of the largest chemical makers in the US, while Bayer and Monsanto will form the largest seed and pesticide company in the world.

Reuters reports that about seven states, including California, have joined the probe of Dow’s planned merger with DuPont that would create a $130 billion chemical behemoth. A separate group of state attorneys general have also joined the Bayer-Monsanto investigation. The states are reportedly concerned that companies will increase pesticide and herbicide prices for farmers, and will have less incentive to compete and introduce better and cheaper products.

Full Content: EcoWatch

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