Syngenta takeover likely to be approved

Syngenta AG Chairman Michel Demare said he expects only a "few" concessions would be needed to get regulatory approval for China National Chemical Corp's $43 billion takeover of the Swiss maker of agrochemical and seeds company.

"The overlap is extremely small," Demare said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"There's a few market concessions that will have to be made, but nothing that will fundamentally change the business model of Syngenta," he added.

The deal has faced delays as authorities, who are concerned the acquisition might raise prices or reduce choice for crop-protection products sold to farmers, requested more information from the companies.

ChemChina already owns Israeli-based generic agrochemical maker Adama.

The EU antitrust review has been extended until April 12 to allow sufficient time to discuss remedy proposals that have been submitted.

The transaction is one of a trio of mega-deals reshaping the global agrochemicals industry.

Regulators are concerned that the industry is a very concentrated sector and that farmers need to have a choice of seeds and crop-protection products.

Bloomberg