Ludwigshafen, Germany | Reuters — BASF, which has so far kept out of a consolidation push among global seeds and pesticides groups, said its business model was not affected by rival Bayer’s plans to buy Monsanto. “We are not backed into a corner by what is happening in the market,” the group’s deputy chief executive […] Read more
BASF says not backed into corner by Bayer’s Monsanto swoop
Bayer secures loan facility to fund Monsanto bid
Reuters — German drugs and crop chemicals group Bayer, which has made a US$62 billion bid for U.S. seeds company Monsanto, has secured a 60 billion-euro (C$87.75 billion, or US$66.9 billion) loan facility, business journal Handelsblatt reported Thursday. The loan facility can be expanded up to 75 billion euros (C$109.68 billion, or US$83.62 billion), the German […] Read more
Monsanto rejects Bayer bid
Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, has rejected Bayer AG’s US$62 billion acquisition bid as “incomplete and financially inadequate” but hasn’t slammed the door on further talks. Reuters on Tuesday quoted two unnamed sources as saying Monsanto can see the logic of combining with the German drugs and crop chemicals group, as per Bayer’s proposal […] Read more
Bayer confirms US$62 billion cash offer for Monsanto
Frankfurt | Reuters –– German drugs and chemicals group Bayer AG said it had made an offer to buy U.S. seeds company Monsanto for US$122 per share in cash, or a total value of $62 billion including debt, to create the world’s biggest agricultural supplier. Bayer said on Monday that the proposal made to Monsanto’s […] Read more
Rush for ag chem megadeals clogs regulatory path, worries farmers
Reuters — As Bayer joins the agricultural sector’s scramble to consolidate, its bid for Monsanto may be a tipping point for U.S. farmers, federal lawmakers and regulators concerned the tie-ups may harm the farm economy. If Monsanto accepts Bayer’s unsolicited offer, experts say, the deal would inevitably trigger a review by federal antitrust regulators. But […] Read more
Bayer offers to buy Monsanto in global ag chem shakeout
Reuters — German drugs and chemicals group Bayer AG made an unsolicited takeover offer for U.S. seeds company Monsanto, aiming to create the world’s biggest agricultural supplier and integrate pesticides and seeds markets. Monsanto disclosed the approach on Wednesday before Bayer confirmed its move, though neither gave the proposed terms. Sources said Bayer would pay […] Read more
U.S. grain firms rejecting GMO crops that lack global approval
Reuters — Across the U.S. Farm Belt, top grain handlers have banned genetically modified crops that are not approved in all major overseas markets, shaking up a decades-old system that used the world’s biggest exporting country as a launchpad for new seeds from companies such as Monsanto. Bold yellow signs from global trader Bunge are […] Read more
Bayer to consider shedding animal health unit
Leverkusen, Germany | Reuters –– Bayer might look into selling its animal health division if it continues to struggle to find takeover targets for the business, the German drugmaker’s incoming chief executive said. “Animal Health is a business that we have been trying for many years to strengthen strategically, that is to say inorganically. That […] Read more
U.S. EPA moves to pull crop insecticide from sale
CLARIFIED, March 7, 2016: Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it was moving to halt sale of insecticides from chemical firms Bayer and Nichino America containing an active ingredient, flubendiamide, found to pose risks to the environment. Bayer CropScience had anticipated the action after rejecting the EPA’s request to voluntarily […] Read more
Bayer sizing up deals to strengthen seeds operation
Leverkusen, Germany | Reuters — Bayer’s Crop Science business is casting its eye over potential targets to enhance its seeds operation, the division’s head said on Thursday, as competitive threats increase with big mergers among its rivals. The Bayer CropScience operation comprises the world’s second-largest pesticides supplier but remains a much smaller player in seeds, […] Read more
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