US: Bayer-Monsanto to invest US$8b in US if merger is approved

German chemicals giant Bayer will invest about US$8 billion in the United States in agriculture research in conjunction with Monsanto, which it is purchasing, the companies said on Tuesday.

The announcement came after a “very productive meeting” last week between President-elect Donald Trump, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann and Monsanto chief Hugh Grant.

The joint statement did not however confirm the announcement by a Trump spokesman that Bayer will create “at least 3,000 new US high-tech jobs,” and retain “100 per cent of Monsanto’s 9,000 plus US workforce.”

“The combined company expects to spend approximately US$16 billion for R&D in agriculture over the next six years with at least half of this investment made in the United States,” the Bayer-Monsanto statement said.

“This is an investment in innovation and people that will create several thousand new high-tech, well-paying jobs after integration is complete.”

It was the third announcement of US investment and job creation plans by a major company on Tuesday, just three days before Trump’s inauguration. Trump quickly took credit in a pair of tweets that came shortly after announcements from General Motors and Walmart.

“With all of the jobs I am bringing back into the US (even before taking office), with all of the new auto plants coming back into our country and with the massive cost reductions I have negotiated on military purchases and more, I believe the people are seeing ‘big stuff.’”

Monsanto shareholders last month approved the US$66 billion takeover of the US company by Bayer. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2017 pending approval by antitrust officials in the US and Europe.

Bayer-Monsanto, which will be headquartered in St. Louis, said its US investment will be in “global seeds and traits research and development.”

Full Content: Channel News Asia

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.