China has imposed significant conditions to clear Marubeni’s $5bn takeover of US-based grain trader Gavilon, in a new show of how Beijing’s antitrust regulators are flexing their muscle reviewing global deals.

Chinese antitrust authorities have rarely intervened in mergers and acquisitions in the past. But the ministry of commerce, or Mofcom, has taken a far more intrusive role recently, including imposing last week far-reaching conditions to approve Glencore’s $65bn takeover of mining group Xstrata.

Marubeni, one of Japan’s leading trading houses, or sogo shosha, initially announced last May the purchase of Gavilon, owned by hedge funds including Ospraie Management, lead by Dwight Anderson, and Soros Fund Management. The Japanese company aimed to close the deal by September, but the lengthy review by Chinese regulators delayed it until now.