Germany/US: Bayer, Monsanto CEOs meet with Trump on merger

The chief executive officers of German chemical giant Bayer and US seed behemoth Monsanto, Werner Baumann and Hugh Grant, are in New York pressing their case with President-elect Donald Trump to approve the massive merger between the two entities and to tout the creation of US jobs if the deal goes through, people with direct knowledge of the matter tell the FOX Business Network.

The meeting between the two CEOs and Trump at his transition headquarters in midtown Manhattan took place during a busy day for the President-elect. Earlier he held his first press conference since winning the 2016 election and answered thorny questions about everything from a Russian hacking scandal to plans to build a border wall between the US and Mexico.

Baumann and Grant left Trump Tower on Wednesday around 2pm ET with investment banker Michael Kramer of Ducera Partners and media specialist Arthur Schwartz. The CEOs are the latest chiefs of multinational companies to tout their business plans in the US and their willingness to work with the President elect to create jobs.

“Today, Werner Baumann, Bayer CEO, and Hugh Grant, Monsanto CEO, had a productive meeting with President-Elect Trump and his team to share their views on the future of the agriculture industry and its need for innovation,” a Monsanto spokesperson told FOX Business.

A spokesperson for Bayer could not immediately be reached for comment; a Trump spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

The pending deal, terms of which were first reported by FOX Business in September, needs regulatory approval from the European Union and the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division when President-elect Trump takes office later this month.

Full Content: Fox Business

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