The two companies were vastly different. Dragoco was privately held and built small, localized businesses around the world with little cross-border interaction. Haarmann & Reimer, was owned by Bayer, known for pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals, for 50 years and had a large corporate structure. The merging of the two companies has been complementary, however, insisted Mr. Schaffner. “Dragoco was strong in the Far East; H&R was strong in Japan and the Middle East,” he said. But...