Bayer to buy Monsanto in latest agrochemicals consolidation
- 8 years ago
Top US seeds firm Monsanto says it has agreed to a takeover bid by the German drugs and crop chemicals maker Bayer.
The price is $66 billion (58.8 billion euros) including Monsanto’s debt.
Bayer wants to grab the top spot in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry, combining its crop science business with Monsanto’s strength in seeds.
News update: Bayer and Monsanto to Create a Global Leader in Agriculture: https://t.co/GL1OL7vDLB— Monsanto Company (@MonsantoCo) September 14, 2016
The two companies currently supply more than a quarter of the seeds and pesticides sold worldwide.
That means competition regulators will likely demand some parts of the businesses be sold off for the deal to go ahead.
Some of Bayer’s own shareholders have opposed it saying the company is paying too much and that this move could mean it neglects the pharmaceuticals part of its business with the shift in focus.
Monsanto shareholders definitely the winners in this deal if it passes regulatory hurdles. Bayer shareholders? Not so much….$MON— The Mays Report™ (@MaysReport) September 14, 2016
It is the largest foreign takeover ever by a German company.
Bayer’s planned acquisition of Monsanto would be the biggest ever by a German company https://t.co/g7dbBt6JUI pic.twitter.com/QKewsBOOQ5— Bloomberg (@business) September 14, 2016
This latest consolidation in the agrochemicals sector follows Swiss firm Syngenta and China’s state-owned ChemChina getting together. Syngenta is the world’s biggest crop chemicals business.
US chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont have also agreed to merge and spin off their respective seeds and crop chemicals operations into a major agribusiness.
The price is $66 billion (58.8 billion euros) including Monsanto’s debt.
Bayer wants to grab the top spot in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry, combining its crop science business with Monsanto’s strength in seeds.
News update: Bayer and Monsanto to Create a Global Leader in Agriculture: https://t.co/GL1OL7vDLB— Monsanto Company (@MonsantoCo) September 14, 2016
The two companies currently supply more than a quarter of the seeds and pesticides sold worldwide.
That means competition regulators will likely demand some parts of the businesses be sold off for the deal to go ahead.
Some of Bayer’s own shareholders have opposed it saying the company is paying too much and that this move could mean it neglects the pharmaceuticals part of its business with the shift in focus.
Monsanto shareholders definitely the winners in this deal if it passes regulatory hurdles. Bayer shareholders? Not so much….$MON— The Mays Report™ (@MaysReport) September 14, 2016
It is the largest foreign takeover ever by a German company.
Bayer’s planned acquisition of Monsanto would be the biggest ever by a German company https://t.co/g7dbBt6JUI pic.twitter.com/QKewsBOOQ5— Bloomberg (@business) September 14, 2016
This latest consolidation in the agrochemicals sector follows Swiss firm Syngenta and China’s state-owned ChemChina getting together. Syngenta is the world’s biggest crop chemicals business.
US chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont have also agreed to merge and spin off their respective seeds and crop chemicals operations into a major agribusiness.