DuPont reports quarterly profit vs. year-earlier loss
Traders work below a board displaying the DuPont logo on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York December 9, 2015.

Chemicals and seeds producer DuPont said on Tuesday it expected its merger with Dow Chemical to close in the first half of the year, suggesting it will take longer than previously estimated to win approvals for the $130 billion deal.

Previously, the companies said they hoped to wrap up the transaction in the first quarter of 2017.

DuPont, which also reported a better-than-expected profit for the sixth straight quarter, said it continued to have constructive discussions with regulators in key jurisdictions.

This is at least the second time the two companies, which have been in talks with EU antitrust regulators to save their merger, have had to push back the expected completion period.