US approves ChemChina’s $43bn Syngenta takeover
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Chinese chemicals group ChemChina is one step closer to striking the country’s biggest overseas takeover on Tuesday after US regulators gave conditional approval for its $43bn acquisition of Swiss seed company Syngenta.
The Federal Trade Commission said in a statement that the two companies have agreed to divest three types of pesticides as a condition to receive approval for the deal.
“The proposed settlement requires ChemChina to sell all rights and assets of ADAMA’s U.S. paraquat, abamectin and chlorothalonil crop protection businesses to California-based agrochemical company AMVAC,” said the FTC.
The EU, which is has opened its own antitrust investigation on the deal, has until April 18 to issue its decision.
The Syngenta takeover would make ChemChina a dominant player in the $100bn-a-year agribusiness industry. Consolidation among agricultural businesses, especially those selling to farmers, has picked up in response to plunging grain prices, which has hurt their revenues and profitability.
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