DowDuPont merger approved by European Union

Mar 27, 2017

Merger could be completed by late 2017

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

The European Commission (EC), the European Union’s (EU) top regulatory agency, conditionally approved the merger between Dow and DuPont.

The approval is contingent upon Dow and DuPont to divest itself of certain portfolios.

“DuPont will divest itself of its cereal broadleaf herbicides and chewing insecticides portfolios,” the companies said in a release. "DuPont will also divest its crop protection research and development pipeline and organization, excluding seed treatment, nematicides, and late-stage R&D programs, which DuPont will continue to develop and bring to market…”

Dow will divest itself of its acid copolymers and ionomers businesses.

The EC outlined three concerns surrounding the merger:

1. Reducing competition in a number of markets for existing pesticides,

2. Reducing innovation competition for pesticides, and

3. Reducing competition for certain petrochemical products.

Dow and DuPont offered a set of commitments to address the European Commissions’ concerns.

The agricultural companies said they would preserve price and innovation competition in pesticide markets and preserve competition for certain petrochemical products.

In its ruling, the EC said it continues to examine the proposed acquisition of Syngenta by ChemChina.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.