Dow Chemical, DuPont merger may not materialize until February

The Dow Chemical Co. reported favorable third quarter earnings on Thursday, and the company remains hopeful regulators will approve its $130 billion merger with the DuPont Co. “We haven’t given up hope that we can get it closed by the end of the year,” said Jim Fitterling, Dow’s president and chief operating officer. But as the end of the year nears, Fitterling said Dow has to be realistic and anticipate that the European Commission’s approval may not arrive until the first quarter of 2017. The merger would result in a combined company known as DowDuPont, which would then spin off into three separate, independent businesses within 18 to 24 months: Material Sciences, said to stay headquartered in Midland, and Agriculture and Specialty Products, to be based in Wilmington, Delaware, where DuPont is currently headquartered.