A top Australian firm has helped get antitrust approval for the massive Dow Chemical and DuPont merger.
Allens, acting for DuPont, has secured Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) clearance for the company’s proposed all-stock merger with Dow. To gain ACCC clearance, DuPont has agreed to divestments required by the European Commission.
The complex US$150bn cross-border merger of equals was announced in December 2015 and recently
gained clearance from US antitrust regulators. The merger has also been cleared in Brazil, China, Europe, and India. It is still awaiting regulatory approval in Canada.
Dow and DuPont are two of the world’s largest firms, with a combined US$73bn in sales in 2016. The “merger of equals” was first announced in 2015, as both firms said the combined company will be named DowDuPont. The parties intend to pursue a spin-off of three of its businesses – agriculture, material sciences and specialty products – following the merger.
The Allens legal team was led by partner Jacqueline Downes, who was assisted by senior associate Felicity McMahon and lawyer Lovelle D’Souza. Downes said that Allens is looking forward to continuing its work with DuPont as the merger progresses.
Both companies expect the deal to close in August. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom acts as global coordinating counsel for DuPont while Weil, Gotshal & Manges acts as lead global legal counsel for Dow.
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