ChemChina’s purchase of Syngenta garners Chinese regulatory approval

ChemChina’s $43bn purchase of Syngenta has won approval from China’s competition regulator, echoing moves by the US and the EU and further bolstering expectations that the pact to create an agrichemical and seeds heavyweight will close this summer.

Syngenta said in a statement on Wednesday that the approval by China’s ministry of commerce boosts expectations that the transaction will close in the current quarter.

The move was broadly expected since ChemChina is a state-owned enterprise, and the deal will represent a major boost to China’s agrichemical and seeds industry.

ChemChina’s deal comes as the sector more broadly is undergoing a rapid re-shaping. Dow Chemical is working to close its pact to buy DuPont, while Bayer plans to scoop up Monsanto.