Dow Chemical and DuPont have delayed their merger. The cause would be due to the fact that both are making at attempt at an asset swap, totaling $1.6 billion, with FMC Corp. a known pesticide maker.
The merger between Dow Chemical and DuPont runs at an estimated $78.7 billion and is expected to be finalized sometime in August. Yet it would seem that FMC grew the most in the eight years that it came to the agreement to purchase DuPont’s crop-protection assets. The European Union wanted those assets to be sold off before things are finalized with Dow Chemical.
DuPont has plans to gain FMC’s health and nutrition business. This deal with FMC, according to DuPont Chief Executive Ed Breen, will gratify “the bulk” of what’s needed for the company to gain the permission of governments around the globe. The largest speed bump in the two companies’ merger is that the European Commission, as well as their global counterparts, are to review all the implications of any antitrust issues that go along with the FMC transactions.
It’s stated that the closing extension is the most recent for the agreement that was drafted back in 2015 and only closed just last year. Both companies gained the approval of the European Commission for their merger back in March. The way they did this was agreeing to sell all pesticide and polymer assets. Yet while this brought them a bit further, they still need antitrust clearance from China, Brazil, and the United States.
Breen believes that the requirements are just “little things” that each country needs in order to finalize the regulatory approvals.
Besides research and development programs, DuPont plans to sell herbicide and insecticide to FMC. Among the assets that the company is selling to FMC is Rynaxypyr, which has earned itself the reputation of being a top seller for DuPont. Just last year Rynaxypyr earned the company an estimated $450 million. That’s just before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was added on. Afterward the total climbed to around $1.4 billion.
A company based in Delaware, called Wilmington, has plans to acquire FMC food businesses as well as ingredients used in pharmaceuticals that usually generate around $228 million in earnings.
It was also stated to a source that FMC has plans to pay DuPont over $1.2 billion as well as give DuPont $425 million in working capital. That money is supposed to reflect the difference in asset values.
Even after all the payments, FMC stills poses to be a good deal for DuPont. After its dealing with DuPont, FMC will hold over 90 percent of pesticide sales. That will make the Philadelphia company the fifth largest producer of crop protection chemicals.
Aside from everything else, Dow and DuPont say they still have plans to combine forces. Once this is done, however, the two say the will then proceed to divide the finally merged company into three. This will take place just over 18 months of closing the deal. The first spinoff company to emerge from this will be a plastics company that will carry on the name, Dow.
The other two companies coming out of the merger will be agriculture and specialty companies. All three will retain the BBB rating by Standard & Poor’s, which is the current rating that Dow now holds.
Although FMC is still thought of as a good deal by some analysts, it is expected to reduce the cost savings that will be anticipated by the merger of DuPont and Dow. Yet once the deal is closed and the two companies have merged, it’s predicted that their combination will bring a targeted $3 billion of synergies.
