The person said, this fee being increased to the high end of the range, indicated that Monsanto had pushed hard to have enough protection in the event the deal fails to go through amid competition watchdogs in the US, Europe and Asia.
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Bayer is planning to up its takeover offer for the US-headquartered Monsanto for the fourth time, according to a report on Tuesday on the website of the German newspaper Rheinische Post.
By accepting Bayer’s offer, the largest cash acquisition proposal on record, Monsanto is set to give the German company a shot at grabbing the top spot in the fast-consolidating farm-supplies industry, combining its crop-science business with Monsanto’s strength in seeds. The Bayer supervisory board is scheduled to meet this week to discuss the deal and Monsanto’s board will meet next week.
People familiar with the deal who asked not to be indentified say that Monsanto wants a price closer to $130 per share.
While all the primary concerns of the deal have reportedly been sorted out between both companies, it is still possible that either company could walk away at the last minute.
Bloomberg, also citing unnamed sources, reported that Bayer is willing to raise its offer to about $129 a share from $127.50 and double the antitrust breakup fee to about $3 billion. The stock later climbed to $108.79 in after-hours trading.
After months of negotiations, Monsanto is close to approving its sale for more than $65 billion.
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Sources told Reuters that topping up the price secured Bayer access to more privileged information on Monsanto’s business performance and paved the way for more detailed negotiations.
