EU gives green light to China’s £32.5bn takeover of Syngenta

The move is China's biggest foreign acquisition to date
The move is China's biggest foreign acquisition to date

The United States and European regulators have cleared a Chinese conglomerate's proposed $43 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.

The deal is one of several reshaping the agricultural chemicals and seeds market, and is seen as a major boost to China's domestic agricultural output capabilities.

However, there has been concern from farming that the deal would lead to a lack of competition and push up prices for European farmers and consumers, while also reducing choice.

'Effective competition'

"It is important for European farmers and ultimately consumers that there will be effective competition in pesticide markets, also after ChemChina's acquisition of Syngenta," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

ChemChina will sell a large chunk of its subsidiary Adama's pesticide, herbicides and insecticides business, its seed treatment products for cereals and sugar beet and a substantial part of its plant growth regulator business for cereals.

American Vanguard said it struck a deal with Adama to acquire three crop protection product lines, without disclosing financial terms.

Last week, the European Commission approved the merger of Dupont and Dow.

There has been some concern about the recent takeovers, which will further concentrate agrochemicals into fewer hands.