Syngenta AG, which has agreed to be taken over by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina, 中國化工) for US$43 billion, said talks with regulatory authorities to win approval for the deal have been constructive and the Swiss company is confident the transaction can be closed in time.
Talks with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) are ongoing and the goal remains to complete the deal by year’s end, CEO Erik Fyrwald said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Syngenta reported a 12 percent decline in first-half earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to US$1.77 billion, less than an average of US$1.91 billion predicted by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales fell 7 percent to US$7.1 billion.
Fyrwald is seven weeks into the role, with the dual task of steering Syngenta through its takeover by the state-owned Chinese company and streamlining a cost base to adapt to increased competition.
ChemChina’s bid values Syngenta at about 464 francs a share, about 20 percent above the closing stock price of 387.8 francs on Thursday.
ChemChina is seeking regulatory approval for the purchase that would make it the world’s largest supplier of pesticides and other crop-care chemicals, albeit temporarily.
Dow Chemical Co’s merger with DuPont Co and Bayer AG’s possible purchase of Monsanto Co would reorder the rankings as the top six suppliers jostle for market share and financial power to drive research and new product releases.
With Syngenta, investors are focused on the process of winning approval from CFIUS in a presidential election year. The regulator can recommend a deal be blocked for reasons of national security, and this time around the panel includes the US Department of Agriculture as the planned acquisition involves food security.
ChemChina is periodically extending its offer until regulatory approval is obtained.
Political developments surrounding the forthcoming election are a “completely separate issue” to the CFIUS review, Fyrwald said.
When accepting the US Republican Party’s presidential nomination, Donald Trump accused China of stealing intellectual property rights and currency manipulation.
Trump — a frequent critic of Chinese trade policies — was being anointed as the party’s candidate in November’s presidential election, and used his acceptance speech at the convention in Cleveland, Ohio, to pledge that he would stop China’s "outrageous theft of intellectual property, along with their illegal product dumping and their devastating currency manipulation."
He also said he would renegotiate trade deals, specifically mentioning China’s WTO accession agreement.
ChemChina recently bought out its Israeli partner in generic agrochemical maker Adama, although Fyrwald does not see that as a prelude to combining the companies, as they are separate investments.
Syngenta is to remain focused on specialized products and even its mature agrochemicals are used in mixes for the latest technology it offers, he said.
“I’ve got to know ChemChina through the years, and have great respect for them,” Fyrwald said in the interview. “They are long-term investors, and that will be the case here.”
Additional reporting by AP
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
Industrial production expanded 22.31 percent annually last month to 107.51, as increases in demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove demand for locally-made chips and components. The manufacturing production index climbed 23.68 percent year-on-year to 108.37, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. In the first four months of this year, industrial and manufacturing production indices expanded 14.31 percent and 15.22 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed. The growth momentum is to extend into this month, with the manufacturing production index expected to rise between 11 percent and 15.1 percent annually, Department of Statistics
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
RSS