A merger of Dow and DuPont will create a giant with a market capitalization of $130 billion and result in cost cutting of $3.1 billion.
The joining of the two companies may trim their operations in Canada, but assessing the impact is difficult because the deal was consummated just last week.
DuPont spokesperson Dan Turner said the merger will bring together “complementary companies” to better serve farmers around the world, including Western Canada.
In July, DuPont opened its research facility in Lethbridge as part of a commitment to develop corn, soybeans and high yielding canola varieties for the Prairies. Turner said that project would proceed.
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“The approximately C$35 million has already been invested in research and development (developing ultra-early maturity corn and canola hybrids and soybean varieties) in Western Canada over the past five years, so there will be no impact to that existing investment,” he said.
Dow and DuPont announced the merger Dec. 11, which will result in three independent businesses: agriculture, material science and specialty products.
A merger fact sheet said DuPont and Dow’s agricultural divisions generate $11 billion and $7 billion in revenue, respectively. Combining the two operations will save $1.3 billion in the form of synergies.
In Canada, DuPont Pioneer focuses on corn, soybeans, wheat and canola. The company has:
- administrative headquarters in Chatham, Ont.
- research centres in Carman, Man., Edmonton, Coteau-du-Lac, Que., and Chatham, Georgetown, Tavistock and Woodstock in Ontario.
- Seed production plants in Lethbridge, Chatham and Ridgetown, Ont.
In Canada, Dow AgroSciences has a:
- head office in Calgary
- global centre for canola breeding in Saskatoon
- Dow Seeds head office in Blenheim, Ont.
- corn and soybean research centre in St. Mary’s, Ont.
- field research stations in Carman and Edmonton
Both companies have made significant investments in Canada over the last six years:
- In 2013, DuPont Pioneer spent $2 million to expand its canola, corn and soybean research centre in Carman.
- In 2013, DuPont invested $19 million to expand its corn seed production plant in Chatham.
- In 2012, Dow opened a new cereal research and breeding centre in Nairn, Ont.
- In 2009, Dow AgroSciences Canada bought Hyland Seeds, an Ontario based developer of corn hybrids, soybeans, edible beans and cereals.
DuPont Pioneer has been particularly vocal about its commitment to Western Canada.
DuPont Pioneer president Paul Schickler said this summer that the company sees the Canadian Prairies as one of its global priorities for sustainable growth.
“You look at 20 million acres of canola (in Western Canada) and that will continue to drive the business’s attention on that crop,” he said.
“There are 500,000 acres of corn, which is only touching the tip of the iceberg, we feel. That could turn into millions of acres. There are 1.5 million acres of soybeans. It could be seven or eight million acres and we will be working towards those.”
Dow has invested millions to bring its new Enlist corn and soybeans to market in Canada and the United States.
The herbicide resistant trait, which allows growers to spray the crop with glyphosate and a new formulation of 2,4-D, has received regulatory approval in Canada and the U.S.
Dow is waiting on China to accept the trait for import before fully commercializing the technology.
