Canada approves Dow, DuPont merger after firms agree to sell assets

Canada’s Competition Bureau has approved the planned merger between Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co., after both firms agreed to dispose of certain holdings involving packaging plastics and herbicides.

The announcement is similar to those made by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. and European Union regulators, who also allowed the merger to go ahead as long as the firms made divestitures they already have outlined.

“The agreement reached today ensures that consumers and businesses continue to benefit from a dynamic marketplace,” competition commissioner John Pecman said in a Competition Bureau statement.

DuPont will sell a significant part of its global herbicides business and research and development branch to FMC Corp. Dow will sell its global business of certain specialized plastics products to SK Global Chemical Corp., the Competition Bureau statement also said.

The bureau said the asset sales were needed to prevent a substantial lessening of competition in the supply and development of some crop protection products and specialized packaging plastics.