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ChemChina’s $43b takeover of Syngenta gets approval in US

China National Chemical Corporation, the state-owned chemicals company also known as ChemChina, offered $465 a share and a special dividend of 5 Swiss francs in February.

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Shares of the Swiss chemical company jumped 12 percent, the most in more than a year, as China National Chemical Corp. received approval from US national security officials for its $43 billion takeover.

The $43 billion deal would be the biggest foreign takeover by a Chinese company to date.

They said a number of anti-trust regulators around the world still need to approve what would be by far the biggest-ever overseas acquisition by a Chinese firm. Both continue to expect that the deal will be closed by the end of the year.

“We are not disclosing the details of the agreement with CFIUS to respect the confidentiality of the process”, a Syngenta spokesman said by email in response to a Reuters query.

CFIUS in the past has blocked innocuous-looking Chinese deals, including a January veto of the $2.8 billion sale of Philips lighting components business to a Sino-American consortium.

The company deals in herbicides, insecticides and fungicides for crop protection, field crops, vegetables and flower seeds, seed-care products and turf, garden, home care and public health products.

Syngenta was also pursued by the agricultural giant Monsanto co.

At 0905 BST, Syngenta shares were up 11.5% to CHF424.50.

This call led to the review by CFIUS, an inter-agency committee that assesses the national security implications of foreign investments in U.S. enterprises.

Syngenta rebuffed US-rival Monsanto three times a year ago before accepting ChemChina’s offer. The deal comes as China looks to secure food supplies for its population.

About a quarter of Syngenta’s sales are in North America.

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Several U.S. lawmakers wrote to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew this year asking for CFIUS to subject the deal to additional scrutiny over its impact on domestic food security. Chinese telecommunication major ZTE Inc and Huawei inc also had a rough brush with USA regulators this year. Syngenta, headquartered in North Carolina, in one of the most important players in the global pesticides and seeds industry. CFIUS has the power to block any deal from a foreign investor if it believes it would create security concerns.

Syngenta AG Stock Jumps 10% after Chem China Receives Approval of Takeover Bid From US