Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — Dow Chemical and DuPont are set to win EU antitrust approval for their US$130 billion merger, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deal, which still needs approval from U.S. and other regulators, has faced intense scrutiny from the European Commission. Of particular concern is combining the two […] Read more
EU regulators reported set to clear Dow, DuPont deal
Canada’s competition watchdog clears Syngenta takeover
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s farmers aren’t likely to see less competition for their crop chemical dollars if the owner of Adama Canada buys Syngenta, the Canadian antitrust watchdog has ruled. The Competition Bureau on Tuesday issued a “no action” letter for the takeover of Syngenta by China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina), saying the deal is “unlikely to result […] Read more
Deere challenges U.S. federal block on Precision Planting bid
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Deere and Co. said its proposal to buy Precision Planting, an agricultural equipment and technology company, will increase consumer choice and directly benefit growers, in a response filed on Wednesday to the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit to block the acquisition. Deere announced its planned acquisition of Precision Planting in November 2015, for […] Read more
New Zealand dairy industry worries over Canada pricing plan
Reading Time: 2 minutes Wellington/Winnipeg | Reuters — New Zealand is closely watching changes in how Canada prices dairy products, New Zealand’s trade ministry said on Friday, as industry groups in several countries complain of unfair Canadian competition. Canada’s dairy farmers and processors, which include Saputo and Parmalat Canada, struck a pricing agreement in July that industry groups in […] Read more
Bayer clinches Monsanto with raised US$66 billion bid
Reading Time: 4 minutes New York/Frankfurt | Reuters — German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer has won over U.S. seeds firm Monsanto with an improved takeover offer of US$66 billion including debt, ending months of wrangling after increasing its bid for a third time. The $128 a share deal announced on Wednesday, up from Bayer’s previous offer of […] Read more
PotashCorp, Agrium make engagement official
Reading Time: 3 minutes The boards of two of the heaviest hitters in Canada’s fertilizer sector have formally agreed to a $47 billion “merger of equals” deal under a new, yet-to-be-named parent company. PotashCorp, the world’s biggest fertilizer company by capacity, and rival Agrium, which is also the world’s biggest crop input retail chain, announced an agreement Monday in […] Read more
‘A Bigger Prize’ author ruthless in the race to get attention
Competition isn't everything, differentiation holds the key
Reading Time: 3 minutes A Bigger Prize: How We Can Do Better Than the Competition (Doubleday Canada, 2014, 391 pp.)$ 32.95. It’s the bedrock of economics, and it’s all about how you compete in markets to sell at the best price you can get, and to buy at the lowest price you can pay. Two centuries ago, Adam Smith […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
