ChemChina’s $43bn purchase of Syngenta has cleared the two biggest remaining regulatory hurdles, opening the way for China’s largest cross-border deal to close by June.
The most challenging antitrust approvals were granted, first by the US Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday and then by Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s antitrust watchdog, yesterday after the state-owned Asian giant agreed to sell some assets in Europe and some in the US.
“The EU and the US are the big regulatory approvals that we’re seeking,” said Erik Fyrwald, Syngenta chief executive, in an interview last week in Brussels. He had “very high confidence” the deal would close by June.