DOJ Clears Dow/DuPont Merger, Third-Largest Ever

Cleary Gottlieb is serving as global antitrust counsel to The Dow Chemical Company in its $130 billion merger of equals with DuPont, which will combine the two companies and then spin out three separate publicly traded companies focused on material sciences, agricultural and specialty chemicals.

On June 15, 2017, Dow and DuPont announced that they have reached a proposed settlement agreement with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice that will permit the companies to proceed with their proposed merger. The proposed agreement does not require the companies to make any additional divestitures and is consistent with commitments already made to obtain the European Commission’s regulatory approval.

This blockbuster deal is expected to be the third-largest transaction of all time and is one of the most challenging international antitrust transactions ever. The transaction requires merger clearance in over 20 jurisdictions and was previously approved in Europe, China and Brazil, among others.