A new-found focus has been regained in the phenomena of merger assessment and innovative perspectives to look at it. This has happened because of very recent deals such as the mega-merger which is valued at around $130 billion between two agrochemical global giants: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) and Dow Chemicals. The mega-deal was given a clean chit by the European Commission which is known for taking austere actions against corporations. The Competition Commission of India too gave a clean chit. The role played by innovation in the ever-expanding market is taken into consideration by antitrust regulators when they come across such transactions. Usually, the harmful impact of such transactions on the innovative capabilities of competitors in the market is taken into consideration along with the loss of incentives to future innovators.

In the above merger of the two mega-corporations, DuPont and Dow Chemicals, the European Commission commented in detail its impacts. It was widely discussed how this merger would significantly impede competitive forces to thrive in the petrochemical and pesticides industry, not only on a regional level but on a global scale. They further added that this would cause hindrance to future innovation in particular industries. It was highlighted that to develop environmental-friendly pesticides, it was required for the companies to invest heavily in Research and Development. When the above merger took place, there were only 5 major companies in the world which prioritised and invested in Research and Development. The merger consolidated the power and resources further and impeded innovation for eco-friendly avenues which were already highly concentrated in the hands of a few. The European Commission also commented on other important similar merger deals in the agrochemical sector between giants which would negatively impact innovation and reduce worldwide research and development value chain drastically. It was brought to notice the importance of cheap and effective pesticides to farmers all over the world and how mergers like the one mentioned above would harm their interests. As a result of which directed the divestiture of DuPont’s business and its global Research and Development operations.

The Competition Commission of India also recognized the severe impacts of this deal and concurred with other jurisdictions to declare that such a merger would be harmful to Indian crops by harming the rates at which they are available. It also accepted the EC directive. This is an encouraging sign showing the increasing willingness of the Competition Commission of India to cooperate with foreign jurisdictions regarding issues of global consequences. The DuPont-Dow merger is responsible for showing us how innovation is also a key factor when it comes to assessment by antitrust regulators. It has pushed the conversation towards questions regarding the longevity of innovative impediments and how far into the future should be taken into consideration. It also showed that innovation as a factor doesn’t only influence the technologically driven sectors but also traditional sectors. The European Commission focussed on discussions regarding early pipeline entanglements and its assessment of the merger by strongly pointing towards the assessment at the idea level and not restricting itself to the already manifested ideas.