The administrative arm of the European Union opened an in-depth review of the proposed $130 billion merger of Dow and DuPont, identifying its three primary areas of concern as seeds, pesticides and petrochemicals. Ninety working days are allotted for the review, or until Dec. 20, said the European Commission in announcing the investigation.
“The livelihood of farmers depends on access to seeds and crop production at competitive prices,” said Margrethe Vestager, EU commissioner for competition. “We need to make sure that the proposed merger does not lead to higher prices or less innovation for these products.” The Dow–DuPont merger would create the world’s largest seed and ag-chemicals company in a sector that is already highly concentrated, said the European Commission.
In a news release, the EC said it has preliminary concerns about the impact of a merger on competition and innovation in crop protection products overall and on herbicides, pesticides and fungicides in particular. Similarly, the EC said it was concerned that the merger could reduce a willingness to license gene editing technologies for use by other seed companies. “The commission is investigating whether competitors’ access to distributors of crop protection products and seeds could become more difficult if Dow and DuPont were to tie their sales of crop protection products and seeds.” The EC said it was working closely with the U.S. Justice Department and antitrust authorities in Brazil and Canada.