Dow / DuPont Merger (EU)

Dow and DuPont were century-old American industrial icons. Their 'merger of equals' planned to combine, cut costs, then spin out three focused firms: agriculture, materials, and specialty products.

European regulators focused on the agriculture overlap. Both firms sold herbicides and insecticides where combined share would dominate niche markets like certain fungicides and insect control tools.

The Commission demanded divestitures to FMC Corporation—including research pipelines and production facilities—not merely brand licenses. Remedies had to transfer real competitive capability.

Petrochemical overlaps in acid copolymers also required asset sales. EU conditions ran in parallel with US merger review.

After closing, the integrated DowDuPont entity worked through integration then executed the three-way split, creating Corteva for seeds and crop chemicals, a new Dow for materials, and a slimmed DuPont for specialties.

The arc—merge, remedy, split—illustrates how conglomerates use mergers to reshape portfolios while antitrust police individual market overlaps.

Farmers and chemical buyers gained a strengthened FMC as partial compensation for lost standalone rivalry between Dow and DuPont crop units.

Merger remedies can reshape entire industry structures.

Conglomerate strategies do not bypass narrow product market analysis.

Buyers of divested assets must receive R&D—not just trademarks.

Herbicide and insecticide overlaps harmed farmers.

Petrochemical co-product markets would concentrate.

Innovation competition would decline post-merger.

Companies said the split plan itself preserved competition long term.

DowDuPont argued remedies were sufficient and pro-innovation.

Crop protection prices affect agricultural commodities and food.

Industrial customers saw supplier lists change after the split.