Chapter 428 DowDuPont
Cheng Di is very familiar with the name of Dow AgroSciences because Tianhe Seeds is currently negotiating with Dow Brazil on the acquisition of its Brazilian specific corn business.

Being banned because of bribery in pesticide registration...interesting, but he had no intention of investigating whether this was the reason.

Cheng Di asked suspiciously, "Does Dow AgroSciences have cotton and sugarcane seed businesses in South Asia? Tianhe is only interested in the seed business."

"We have cotton, corn and soybean seed businesses, and our pesticide channels are spread across South Asia, which fully meets your requirements," Kumar said confidently.

"There is a big difference between selling seeds and pesticides." Cheng Di said with a look of disdain, "If Tianhe wants to acquire a company, it will only acquire the seed business."

"But as far as I know, Jiahe also has a pesticide business. Acquiring Dow South Asia is like killing two birds with one stone for Jiahe!"

Kumar promoted the product vigorously. In his words, Dow South Asia became a hot commodity. It not only had strong sales channels, but also made progress in both pesticides and seeds.

Today, Dow AgroSciences' business in India has stagnated due to the ban on pesticides, and its seed business is also in a downturn, so Dow is willing to sell Dow South Asia.

As long as Kumar is given the task, he will succeed easily.

Although Cheng Di is a technical person and has no experience in mergers and acquisitions, he is not stupid. If the investment is tens of millions, he can really make the decision.

But if it was Dow AgroSciences, he couldn't make a hasty decision... The group would definitely be interested, but he couldn't show that interest.

Kumar is a greedy man. Once he knows his intentions, he will definitely be blackmailed.

So, he acted like he had no interest in Dow South Asia and repeatedly changed the subject to ask about other medium-sized seed companies.

It was not until Kumar once again directed his attention to Dow AgroSciences that Cheng Di asked in a dull tone:
“Kumar, how much is Dow South Asia worth?”

"15 billion dollars!" Seeing Cheng Di shaking his head, Kumar said, "But I think with Dow's current situation, we can get it for about 10 billion dollars."

"Even if it's $10 billion, it's too expensive, Kumar. You know, the pesticide business is Dow AgroSciences' main business, but now it's been blocked by you."

"But his seed business is still running. In addition, Dow South Asia also has business in Pakistan and other countries. You know, Pakistan is also a major agricultural country."

Cheng Di said: "That's true, but my mission is to acquire the seed business. The group will not be interested in Dow's agrochemical business. Jiahe's pesticide research and development direction is different from Dow's.

How about this, Kumar, can you help me contact a suitable seed company? The commission will remain the same. "

Kumar pondered and said, "Cheng, this is such a good opportunity, I think you should report it to the company."

"This will delay my normal work." Cheng Di pretended to ponder for a while, then said awkwardly:

"Well, I only gave it a try because we're classmates, but it's too late now. I'll contact you tomorrow."

After seeing Kumar off, Cheng Di immediately found Miao Yifeng and Zeng Qing and reviewed their conversation in full.

"It is too early to tell whether what Kumar said is true or not. As far as I can remember, Dow AgroSciences does not have much seed business in South Asia."

"Avic's people will arrive tomorrow. Let them investigate. Isn't that what investment banks do?"

"Whether true or not, this news is very important. Communicate with Mr. Qu and the boss as soon as possible."

When Guo Yang learned that Dow was interested in selling its South Asian business, he was also stunned for a moment.

A few days later, all the information about Dow AgroSciences South Asia and Brazil was collected.

Guo Yang also convened a video conference with people from South Asia, Brazil and China.

"Tianhe is currently offering $10.2 billion for Dow's Brazilian corn business. Our competitors are Monsanto and Bayer. In addition, DuPont is also interfering with our acquisition of Dow Brazil.

Strangely, I got a message that DuPont also seems to be interested in selling part of its crop protection and pesticide business..."

“Dow’s pesticide business in India is now a shell with no products for sale, but the seeds and channels are still there. In addition, the most valuable part is in Pakistan.

At present, the people from Avic Investment Bank have already contacted Dow AgroSciences, and the other party does not reject mergers and acquisitions..."

After listening to feedback from all parties, Guo Yang felt that there seemed to be undercurrents in the international seed industry.

First, Dow was selling its Brazilian corn seed business, and now he learned that the South Asian business was also being sold. This made him sense of changes in the international seed industry.

Guo Yang asked: "Do you know the reason why Tao is selling its assets?"

Qu Yang at the other end of the video pondered and said, "It is mainly due to the impact of the financial crisis. As the financial crisis spreads, the chemical industry at home and abroad, which is at the upper end of the real economy industry chain, has not been spared.

From 2008 to date, market demand has continued to be sluggish, which has become a common crisis faced by the global chemical industry.

North America is also facing the threat of biological invasions, the agricultural industry has suffered heavy losses, and the reputation of chemical giants such as DuPont and Dow has been declining.

Besides, it is also related to the King of All."

"Oh?"

Qu Yang said: "Quanwang has grabbed a lot of Dow's domestic business in the pesticide, herbicide, fungicide and other businesses, and its performance and operating pressure are very high."

Guo Yang looked at Yu Qin in the conference room. There was also a laptop in front of him.

"Old Yu, can you tell me something?"

Yu Qin coughed twice and said with a smile: "Strictly speaking, it is indeed closely related to the King of All. First of all, the application of natural enemy insects directly seized part of the pesticide market share.

Secondly, in the application of new pesticides, Dow AgroSciences' Lebens and Ellux insecticides are mainly used on fruit trees, vegetables and cotton. In this regard, they are completely unable to compete with Quanwang's Speed ​​Kill, especially in the high-end market, where they have almost been completely defeated.

At present, Susha has only one competitor in China: DuPont's Kangkuan. Kangkuan has expanded rapidly in the domestic rice insecticide market and also wants to enter the corn insecticide market, but it cannot compete with Quanwang's channels.

In addition, the crop applications of Dow AgroSciences' herbicides such as Gaifen and Maxstar and Quanwang's green-cut herbicides are highly overlapped;

In terms of fungicides, its products are mainly targeted at crops such as fruits and vegetables, and their market share is also being eroded by natural enemies of insects and biological pesticides.

Therefore, Dow AgroSciences' business in China has declined significantly, while DuPont is slightly better due to its Kangkuan and Pioneer 335."

Dow AgroSciences entered the Chinese market in the early 10s. Lesban and Gainone are its star brands. Both have a history of more than years of market development in China and have won the trust of many farmers.

However, as Qu Yang and Yu Qin spoke, everyone realized that Dow's business in China has shrunk rapidly, and its performance can no longer be described as halved.

In addition to business in China, other regions have also been deeply affected by the financial crisis. In North America, the remnants of biological invasions have also spread to the agricultural chemical field.

The herbicides and pesticides that Dow AgroSciences is proud of are simply unable to control the spread of caltrops and red fire ants in American farmland.

Gradually, farmers are more willing to use physical means to eliminate weeds, and chemical products such as herbicides are gradually abandoned.

In addition to Dow, the situation of DuPont Chemical is not much better.

"The share prices of Dow and DuPont have both fallen sharply. They are probably trying to improve their operating conditions by selling assets."

"It's been several years, and the Americans still haven't been able to control weeds and red fire ants!"

"These two organisms are really powerful. Now the whole world is strictly preventing and testing North American agricultural products, and its agricultural product exports are greatly affected."

“The four major grain traders have also had a difficult time in the past two years.”

“Now is indeed a good time to acquire.”

After a discussion, Yu Qin said, “Boss, I think Quanwang can use this opportunity to acquire Dow’s business in South Asia. The business environment in Asan is indeed average, but the domestic cooperation with Pakistan is close.

Pakistan has an actual cultivated area of ​​more than 3 million mu, which is also a large market.”

Guo Yang pondered and said, "I agree to acquire Dow AgroSciences' overseas assets. In this way, Yu Qin will also organize people to go to Ah San, and the subsequent acquisitions will be based on Quanwang.

But there's another thing that's worth noting, is there another reason why Dow and DuPont are both selling assets?"

Everyone present thought about it and discussed it, but no one spoke out the result of Guo Yang's inference.

“Are there any unusual changes in other agrochemical companies?”

Miao Lanchun from the Strategic Investment Department said: "According to the information we have collected, the performance of major agricultural companies around the world has declined sharply in the past two years. Many companies have gone bankrupt or been merged."

Guo Yang: “Will there be any major mergers and acquisitions?”

"not yet."

"That's the problem." Guo Yang patted the table and said, "I think Dow Chemical and DuPont Chemical may be planning a super merger!"

“DuPont and Dow merge?!!”

"Is this possible?"

Suddenly, people cried out in surprise one after another.

Dow and DuPont are both world-class agrochemical giants, with market capitalizations of more than US$600 billion. In the global agrochemical field, they are second only to Germany's BASF.

Once the merger occurs, a super giant will be born in the global chemical industry.

Yu Qin, Qu Yang and others remained silent.

The market size and influence of Dow and DuPont in the world seed and pesticide fields far exceed those of Tianhe and Quanwang. Even Tianhe and Quanwang combined cannot beat Dow alone. Once the two companies complete the merger and reorganization, the pressure they face will increase exponentially.

Guo Yang waited for everyone to digest his inference.

"Divesting off non-core businesses and enhancing core competitiveness" has always been the reason DuPont and Dow have claimed for selling assets.

But it may also be that the two are preparing for a merger and reorganization.

The two companies have been struggling with low demand for agricultural chemicals due to falling agricultural product prices and a strong dollar.

DuPont's global seed sales fell 30% and pesticide sales fell 50% last year, with an operating loss of more than $10 billion for the year.

Dow is no less impressive.

Both companies have been criticized by shareholders, and they are now streamlining their operations and focusing on developing fast-growing business units.

But it is obvious that there is a greater chance of finding a way out by uniting together, which is related to the fact that the Americans have been slow to deal with the problems of caltrops and red fire ants.

Guo Yang had enough reasons to suspect that the timing of this century's merger had been advanced by several years.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

……

Michigan, North America.

"Leeves, you can't do this. Dow AgroSciences' assets in South Asia cannot be sold to Jiahe!"

DuPont Chemical President Sergey Brin learned another worrying news in the past two days: following the corn seed business in Brazil, Dow is also negotiating with Golden Harvest for its business in South Asia.

"Is this happening?"

"Reeves, didn't your subordinates report such a big thing to you?"

"Wait, Brin, you are talking about South Asia, which is also India, right? That area is currently a non-core business of Dow and is an asset to be divested."

"Then why sell it to Golden Harvest?" Brin said angrily, "Golden Harvest is one of the biggest enemies of Dow and DuPont in the Chinese market. Hasn't it suffered enough in these years?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with Dow AgroSciences' business in China, but from a business perspective, Jiahe's offer is currently the highest."

"Damn it, Reeves, you should communicate with the people in the agricultural department, then you will know how big a threat Golden Harvest poses. We must prevent it from entering the global market!" Brin said anxiously.

Reeves said: "Brin, you think too highly of the Chinese."

Brin said: "No, Reeves, you can't underestimate Jiahe. Are you interested in hearing about DuPont's experience in China?"

"of course."

Brin took a deep breath. In his heart, he was filled with hatred for Jiahe, an opponent that had made DuPont pay a heavy price.

At that time, he was not yet the president of DuPont Chemical, but was only responsible for the management of global agricultural business.

According to his judgment and planning, after eighteen years of planning and research and development, DuPont's business in China is about to bear fruit.

As he expected, the performance of Pioneer 335 bred by DuPont Pioneer in the variety evaluation test surpassed all corn varieties in China at that time.

The disruptive yield and excellent resistance make Pioneer Company feel that this will be a variety that will change the landscape of China's corn market.

To this end, DuPont Pioneer formulated an extremely careful and rigorous marketing plan, and even considered taking advantage of the chaos of Hua Xia Seed's counterfeiting to promote Pioneer 335.

However, something unexpected happened.

When Xianyu 335 was preparing for a big fight, Tianyu No. 1 emerged with an incomparable attitude, and quickly defeated Zhengdan 958, the overlord of China's corn seed industry, becoming the new generation of king, and continues to be the king to this day.

Although the highly anticipated Xianyu 335 had good performance, it was completely suppressed by Tianyu 1, which was far from the expectations of Brin and others.

Three years ago, DuPont developed a new generation of insecticide: Conkant, which won the "Most Innovative Chemistry Award" at the Brighton World Plant Protection Congress that year.

Broad-spectrum insecticide, long-lasting effect, low toxicity, strong miscibility... these advantages have made Kangkuan quickly become the world's largest insecticide within two years of its launch.

However, Kang Kuan encountered another strong enemy in China: the quick kill from the all-king creature.

Kangkuan is making great progress in the rice field, but has achieved little success in the corn, cotton, vegetable, and fruit tree markets, simply because Susha is more competitive in these markets.

So, when he learned that Dow AgroSciences was going to sell its Brazilian corn business to Golden Harvest, Breen just complained, after all, corn breeding takes time.

But Dow's business in India is different. It is a branch company mainly engaged in pesticide business with complete sales channels.

Speed ​​Kill was launched in China several years ago and is a biological pesticide with extremely low hazard, so it is not difficult to pass foreign registration.

This means that once Golden Harvest completes the acquisition of Dow Asan, Susha will enter the South Asian market!

Brin said bitterly: "Leeves, what you are doing now is equivalent to aiding the enemy! The decline of Dow AgroSciences' business in China is also caused by Jiahe."

Reeves listened to Brin's story quietly. He was not so familiar with Dow AgroSciences' specific business, nor was he as sensitive as Brin.

In his opinion, competition from Golden Harvest might have played a role, but the financial crisis was the main reason.

It is shameful to put all the blame on a single company.

He also knew that Kangkuan was making great progress around the world.

But for a company of DuPont Chemical's size, this is just an ordinary core business.

Brin was a little anxious.

Reeves said: "Brin, as a decision maker, we should consider the overall situation and divest non-core businesses as soon as possible. The merger of Dow and DuPont will inevitably face antitrust investigations.

The main overlap between Dow and DuPont's product lines is in the fields of seeds and crop chemicals, which is the focus of antitrust supervision.

We need to divest the relevant assets as soon as possible before making it public to the outside world so that we can pass the review quickly.”

Brin sighed and said, "So, you are not opposed to selling Dow's business to Golden Harvest?"

"Yes, this is the unanimous opinion of Dow's management." Reeves pondered:
"We need to be responsible to our shareholders. Jiahe's current offer is the highest. Alternatively, Dow can also consider selling its assets to Bayer, BASF, Syngenta and Monsanto.

Do you think Jiahe is a bigger threat than them?"

"shit!"

Dow and DuPont are both chemical giants with three main areas of business: agriculture, materials science and specialty products.

If Jiahe has created competitive pressure on Dow and DuPont in the agricultural field, then Bayer, BASF and Syngenta are competing in all aspects.

Brin can still tell what is more important.

Reeves said: "Don't worry, once the merger is completed, DowDuPont will have a comprehensive and diversified product portfolio and a strong product research and development program in the field of seeds and crop protection. Such strength will crush Jiahe."

With Reeves's persuasion, Brin gradually let go of his worries. Golden Harvest is only strong in China, while Dow and DuPont have markets all over the world.

The combined revenue of the agricultural sectors of the two companies alone exceeds US$200 billion.

Such strength is enough to send chills down the spine of any competitor.

...

Jiuquan, April, spring is back.

Guo Yang was holding a teacup, sitting in the boss chair and looking out the window. On the table were documents about DuPont and Dow.

In March, DuPont announced the spinoff of its high-performance chemicals business to increase its research efforts in biotechnology, chemicals and materials.

Similarly, The Wall Street Journal also revealed that Dow Chemical has developed plans to sell or spin off $40 billion worth of bulk chemical assets.

In addition, Dow Chemical is selling some of Dow AgroSciences' agricultural assets.

BASF has been focusing on adding...

It can be expected that Tianhe's acquisition of Dow Brazil and Quanwang's acquisition of Dow South Asia will be relatively smooth, but the merger of DuPont and Dow is like a crocodile lurking under the water.

The merger of DuPont and Dow is not far away.

Will Bayer and Monsanto, Sinochem and Syngenta also follow suit? Or is there another twist?

None of this is known.

But Guo Yang knew that if Jiahe wanted to be invincible in international competition, the best way was to destroy and rebuild.

“Asan is the first pilot.”

(End of this chapter)