Dow-DuPont shows how innovation is EU's new M&A battleground

Paris

DOW Chemical Co and DuPont Co's success at converting smart ideas in the laboratory into products used by farmers across the world was nearly their undoing when European Union (EU) regulators started poking around their proposed US$77 billion merger.

The bloc has been pushing to encourage investment in research and development as part of its political agenda, and EU merger watchdogs have taken up the cause as well, trying to ensure M&A doesn't obstruct the pipeline of potential new products before they see the light of day.