Grassley to hold hearing on agriculture mergers next month

The Des Moines Register
By Christopher Doering
August 23, 2016

WASHINGTON — Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said Tuesday he will hold a hearing next month to discuss a wave of consolidation among seed and chemical producers, including the merger of Dow and DuPont.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he is calling the hearing because some producers have expressed a “great deal of concern” about the mergers. It is still being determined who will testify in late September. Consumers, companies affected by the mergers and antitrust experts are among those expected to appear.

“Because of the importance of the seed and chemical industries to agriculture and the nation’s economy, the Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to hold a hearing in late September,” Grassley told reporters. “The hearing will focus on the transactions currently being reviewed by antitrust regulations and the current trend in consolidation in the seed and chemical industries.”

Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, is being courted by Bayer AG. In addition, ChemChina and Syngenta — along with DuPont, parent of DuPont Pioneer, in Johnston, and Dow Chemical — are in the midst of their own deals. The $130 billion Dow-DuPont deal is expected to close this year, with the companies saying the merger could eventually bring more jobs to Iowa.

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