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Germany/US: Bayer makes move for Monsanto in agrichemicals mega-merger

By  |  May 19, 2016

German drugs and chemicals group Bayer has made an unsolicited takeover proposal to US seeds company Monsanto, aiming to create the world’s biggest agricultural supplier and take advantage of converging pesticides and seeds markets.

Monsanto disclosed the approach on Wednesday before Bayer AG confirmed its move, though neither released proposed deal terms.

With Monsanto’s market capitalization of around $42 billion, an acquisition would likely be bigger than ChemChina’s February deal to buy Swiss agrichemicals firm Syngenta AG for $43 billion – a target Monsanto itself pursued last year – and could face U.S. antitrust hurdles.

Monsanto said in a statement its board was reviewing the proposal, which is subject to due diligence, regulatory approvals and other conditions. There is no assurance that any transaction will take place, it said.

Full Content: Time

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