DuPont Planning Sale of Herbicide Business

DuPont plans to sell a company-owned herbicide business, and company officials hope this will reduce antitrust concerns to a $59 billion merger with U.S. competitor Dow Chemical Co.  Bloomberg reports the sale is expected to generate several hundred million dollars and Delaware-based DuPont is also considering the disposal of insecticide and seed units that might be an obstacle to the deal moving forward.  A host of competitors, from BASF to FMC and private equity firms are monitoring opportunities to pick up assets as the biggest-ever wave of consolidation in the agrochemical and seed business spurs antitrust reviews and forced sales.

For its part, Dow is selling a unit making copolymers used in food packaging.  Dow and DuPont are pushing to complete the merger by the end of this year.

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