Bayer agrees $128/share cash bid to buy Monsanto – source * Breakup fee $2 billion – source * Deal expected to close by end-2017 – source (Adds background, updates shares) By Greg Roumeliotis and Ludwig Burger NEW YORK/FRANKFURT, Sept 14 (Reuters) – German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer has won over USA seeds firm Monsanto with a takeover offer of around $66 billion, a source close to the matter said, ending months of wrangling after increasing its bid for a third time.
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St. Louis-based Monsanto has finally agreed to a takeover offer from the German company Bayer. “If the deal is successful, it’ll make the new corporation the biggest seed maker and pesticide company in the world – and it will have nearly total control of the most important aspects of our food supply”.
The deal is the largest mergers and acquisitions tie-up this year.
“We believe that this combination with Bayer represents the most compelling value for our shareowners, with the most certainty through the all-cash consideration”, said Monsanto chairman and CEO Hugh Grant in a joint statement.
Reuters reports that Bernstein Research analysts give the deal a 50/50 chance of being approved by regulators. Although MON was hoping to fetch $130 per share in the deal, $128 is obviously close enough to get the takeover done as the agricultural spaces continues to see big consolidation.
The deal comes as falling crop prices have caused a slide in farm profits, “which has cut into the amount that farmers can pay for chemicals and seeds”, Jim tells our Newscast unit.
What’s more, “the record of mergers in these industries is poor at best”, Balto said in an email.
In 2015, the companies had combined agricultural revenue of 23 billion euros. Its pesticide and crop science division will be based in Monheim, Germany.
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Bayer said Wednesday the transaction brings together two different but complementary companies. It will have “an important presence” in Durham, N.C., as well as facilities globally, Bayer said.
