U.S. regulators are taking more time to study ChemChina’s deal to buy Syngenta, says Bloomberg, citing the Swiss seed and ag chemical company. The transaction is one of three that would transform the seed and chemical sector into a “big three” from a “big six.”
Syngenta spokesman Paul Minehart told Bloomberg “things are going very well” and the company does not expect a barrier to completing the the transaction in the first half of this year. Minehart said U.S. approval might come before the April 12 deadline for a decision by the European Commission. The spokesman said the companies have proposed remedies to quell any concerns about competition in the industry but did not offer details.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction over ChemChina’s $43 billion purchase because Syngenta has research and production facilities in the United States as well as generating a quarter of its seed and crop protection revenue in the country. The purchase by ChemChina was the biggest overseas deal by a Chinese company last year.