Dow-DuPont merger facing more delay

Dow Chemical and DuPont face further delays to their plans to create the world's biggest chemical company after the European Commission demanded more information about the deal.

The European Union merger regulator 'has stopped the clock in its in-depth investigation,” the watchdog said in an email Friday. This happens 'if the parties do not provide an important piece of information that the commission has requested.”

A previous suspension already delayed the EU's probe by nearly a month early this year. The clock was suspended again as of Oct. 13, the commission said.

Dow-DuPont, the first of a trio of mega-deals reshaping the agrichemicals industry, is embroiled in an extended probe by the EU over concerns that the combination may reduce competition for crop protection, seeds and some petrochemicals. The EU is separately examining China National Chemical Corp.'s bid for Switzerland's Syngenta.

'Once the missing information is supplied by the parties, the clock is re-started and the deadline for the commission's decision is then adjusted accordingly,” the commission said.

Dow said in a statement that it always expected a 'thorough review” and both companies are working with the EU and other regulatory agencies. The deal is now expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, Dow said.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has raised concerns that the industry is 'quite concentrated already” and she'll ensure that farmers have affordable prices and a choice of providers. EU lawmakers and environmental campaigners have been calling on her to block Bayer's bid for Monsanto.

Regulators twice stopped the clock on their review of Halliburton's bid to buy oil-services rival Baker Hughes earlier this year, saying they needed more information from the companies. The firms abandoned the deal in May as the companies struggled to overcome antitrust concerns from the U.S., the EU and other regulators.