Cornucopia’s Take: Despite the existence of U.S. laws barring the creation of monopolies, Bayer has jumped its final hurdle in acquiring Monsanto. Once the merger goes through, this single behemoth will control an estimated 77% of all seed corn and 69% of all seed traits. Farmers have been rightly worried about such consolidation in the seed industry. Stay tuned to find out what efforts remain in play to stop this merger.
Bayer reaches deal with U.S. for approval to buy Monsanto: WSJ
NBC News
by Reuters
Shares of Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company, jumped by almost 7 percent on the news.
 |
German drugs and pesticides group Bayer has reached a deal with the U.S. Justice Department for antitrust approval for its $62.5 billion bid to acquire Monsanto by agreeing to sell additional assets, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The Justice Department reached an agreement in principle with the two companies in recent days, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Under the deal, Bayer agreed to sell additional seed and treatment assets to BASF and agreed to make concessions related to digital agriculture, the Journal said.
Shares of Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company, jumped 6.6 percent, to $125.66.
Bayer declined comment on the report, but said in a statement it anticipated closing the Monsanto purchase in the second quarter.
“We remain confident in our ability to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals and look forward to continuing to work diligently with regulators to support that process,” it said.
A spokeswoman for BASF could not immediately be reached for comment. The Department of Justice and Monsanto both declined to comment.
Last week, Monsanto said in its quarterly earnings report that it was confident the U.S. and other needed regulatory approvals would be secured within the second quarter.
Monsanto did not host a conference call with analysts to discuss the earnings, as is its usual practice, because of the pending merger.
European Union antitrust regulators approved the deal in March after the companies agreed to sell a swathe of assets to BASF. China, Brazil and Australia have also approved the proposed merger.
The deal is the third in the sector, preceded by a merger of Dow and Dupont, and a merger of ChemChina and Syngenta.
