Antitrust | US, EU clear Chinese takeover of Syngenta

U.S. and European regulators have cleared a Chinese conglomerate’s proposed USD43 billion acquisition of Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta on condition it sells some businesses to satisfy anti-monopoly objections.

The Federal Trade Commission’s announcement comes alongside the approval by European regulators of the purchase by state-owned ChemChina. It would be China’s biggest foreign acquisition to date.

ChemChina, also known as China National Chemical Corp., agreed to sell businesses that make an herbicide, an insecticide and a fungicide whose combined market shares with Syngenta would harm competition, the FTC and European Commission say yesterday.

“ChemChina has offered significant remedies, which fully address our competition concerns. This has allowed us to approve the transaction,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust commissioner, said.

Chinese companies are engaged in a multibillion-dollar global buying spree to acquire technology and brands to improve their competitive edge as explosive growth in their home economy slows.

At the same time, the global industry that supplies farm chemicals, biotechnology and other inputs is in the midst of a shake- up as tumbling commodity prices squeeze spending by farmers.

A U.S. government national security panel approved the ChemChina-Syngenta tie-up in August despite complaints by some legislators who cited the potential for “risks to our food system.”

ChemChina subsidiary Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. agreed to sell businesses in the United States that produce the herbicide paraquat, the insecticide abamectin and the fungicide chlorothalonil to American Vanguard Corp. and its affiliate Amvac Chemical Corp.

The FTC said Syngenta owns branded versions of all three chemicals, while Adama is the No. 1 or 2 supplier of generic versions in the United States.

ChemChina has also agreed to sell significant parts of its European operations in pesticides and plant growth regulation products. AP