Two agriculture industry mergers expected to be completed by the end of the year now look delayed into the early part of 2017.
Dow Chemical and DuPont’s merger may be delayed until February, as European antitrust officials take more time to consider potential competition issues in pesticides and crop seeds, according to Bloomberg.
The European Commission this month delayed its decision deadline until February 6th as it sought additional information about the transaction.
Meanwhile, the Syngenta-ChemChina deal will likely take more time for regulatory approval after the two failed to submit paperwork by a deadline Friday.
For that deal, The Wall Street Journal says European regulators have set an initial deadline for the merger probe for October 28th to decide whether to clear the deal unconditionally, or open an in-depth investigation, which would last several more months and likely lead the EU to demand concessions.
One analyst expects the deal to be completed within the second half of next year.
