BRUSSELS/ZURICH, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Syngenta shares were down as much as nine percent on Monday after the European Commission triggered doubts about Chinese state-owned chemical company ChemChina’s US$43 billion bid for the Swiss pesticides and seeds group.
The companies met with the EU antitrust authority a week ago in a bid to allay competition concerns about China’s largest-ever foreign investment.
Commission spokesperson Ricardo Cardoso said in an email that the companies had not offered any concessions.
This means either the Commission will clear the deal unconditionally by an Oct. 28 deadline or open a full investigation, a process that can take up to five months.
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Syngenta said it would provide an update on the progress of the deal with its third-quarter trading statement Oct. 25.
Analysts at Baader Helvea said they expect the EU is simply trying to get the best result possible.
“We think the (Commission) is playing political poker to secure for the EU important points (i.e. GMO-related topics, trade topics, etc.) and therefore the EC tries to increase pressure on ChemChina/China to come up with interesting offers,” they said in a note to clients.
