The European Union has approved the $130-billion merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont.

The new company would be required to sell substantial assets, including key research and development activities, to ensure competition in the sector.

The deal still needs to be approved by US regulators.

The Dow Dupont merger is one of three mega-deals in the works. The other two are ChemChina's $43 billion bid for Syngenta, while Bayer is hoping to purchase Monsanto.