DuPont/Dow Merger Wins Antitrust Clearance
The proposed agreement with the Department of Justice remains subject to court approval and does not require the companies to make any additional divestitures, and with this agreement, no further approvals are required in the United States for the merger to close.
DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company announced June 15 that they have reached a proposed agreement with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice that allows them to proceed with their proposed merger. "We are very pleased that the DOJ has approved this transaction," said Andrew Liveris, Dow's chairman and CEO. "With today's DOJ clearance, we have taken a significant step forward in bringing together these two iconic enterprises and in the subsequent intended separation into three leading, independent innovation-based science companies that will generate significant benefits for all stakeholders."
The companies still expect to close the merger in August 2017.
Ed Breen, DuPont's chair and CEO said, "With this review completed, we are on track to close our procompetitive merger in a manner that maintains the strategic logic and value creation potential of the transaction. Going forward, the intended subsequent spinoffs are expected to unlock significant value for shareholders as we execute our plan for each company to be a growth-oriented leader in attractive segments where global challenges are generating strong demand for their distinctive offerings."
To complete the merger, DuPont will divest certain parts of its crop protection portfolio and Dow will divest its global ethylene acrylic acid copolymers and ionomers business. The proposed agreement with the Department of Justice remains subject to court approval and does not require the companies to make any additional divestitures, and with this agreement, no further approvals are required in the United States for the merger to close, DuPont reported. The companies expect the merger to generate cost synergies of approximately $3 billion and growth synergies of approximately $1 billion.