DuPont
Chemicals and seeds producer DuPont stated that its $130-billion merger with Dow Chemical Co will take longer to wrap up than previously expected as the companies await regulatory approvals, Reuters reported.
This is the second time that the two companies, which are in talks with the European Union antitrust regulators, have had to push back the expected completion.
The EU regulators earlier this week gave the companies 10 more working days in connection with the ongoing review and set a March 14 deadline.
The regulators were mainly concerned about the companies' crop protection businesses and DuPont "has been focused on a remedy package", a company executive said on a post-earnings call. He did not provide further details.
The merger will create the world's largest crop protection and seeds company, triggering regulatory concerns that it may reduce competition in these areas.
The deal, announced in December 2015, is now expected to close in the first half of 2017. The companies had previously hoped to close the transaction in the first quarter.
(Reporting by Arathy S Nair and Swetha Gopinath in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila)
