Syngenta (SYNN.S) shares rose significantly last week as reports came out speculating the European Union antitrust authorities would approve the seed and pesticide company's US$43 billion takeover from ChemChina (CNNCC.UL).

Reuters reported "two people familiar with the matter" said ChemChina was said to secure conditional approval from the EU.

The news sent the Swiss group's share price up 3.4% Friday to reach 440.8CHF, which compares to 430CHF when the market opened on Monday and less than 400CHF at the start of 2017.

The deal is however worth 470CHF per share, which indicates there is still some degree of scepticism and the agreement is far from being a done deal.

One of the sources close to Reuters reportedly said the Chinese state-owned company had agreed to minor concessions, and that it would divest "a couple of national product registrations, including existing products and a few in the pipeline, in more than a dozen EU countries".

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