Ag Chem Suppliers mergers.

DOW, DUPONT MERGER TO CLOSE IN Q1 2017: Andrew Liveris and Ed Breen, the CEOs of Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co., respectively, said Tuesday they expect the $59 billion merger of the companies to close in the first quarter of 2017 — Breen said by the end of March — which is beyond the end-of-year target set in June when shareholders approved the link-up. In interviews with Bloomberg on Tuesday, the leaders of the two agrichemical giants said regulators’ “greatest concern is agriculture” amid rapid consolidation in the seed and pesticide industry, but that the value created by the Dow-DuPont deal will be worth waiting for. Earlier this month the European Commission pushed its decision deadline to Feb. 6, because it wanted more information on the transaction. Liveris declined to say whether assets will need to be sold to gain approval. ChemChina’s proposed $43 billion takeover of Syngenta also has been delayed until the first quarter of 2017, due to an in-depth probe by the European Commission, said Erik Fyrwald, CEO of the Swiss seed and pesticide maker, in a statement to investors on Tuesday. The two companies missed a deadline last week to submit plans to resolve antitrust regulators' concerns, paving the way for a wider investigation. In August, the deal was cleared by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews foreign transactions for any national security threats. Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-agriculture#ixzz4ODRIw1la Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook