Bayer testing waters for Monsanto takeover

Monsanto confirmed it received an offer

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Bayer has made an offer to acquire Monsanto, which could create the world's largest supplier of seed and pesticides.

In a release dated May 18, Monsanto said it "received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Bayer AG for a potential acquisition of Monsanto," and that the company’s executives are reviewing it.

A takeover of Monsanto could strenghten Bayer's place in the agriculture business totem pole.

"The proposed combination would reinforce Bayer as a global innvation-driven Life Science company with leadership positions in its core segments, and would create a leading integrated agriculture business," Bayer said in a May 19 statement.

Both companies have said there will be no further coments at this time.

Some of the world’s largest agribusinesses have been busy attempting and accepting takeover bids within the last year.

In 2015, Monsanto attempted to buy Syngenta; the deal was rejected before Syngenta accepted a $43 billion offer from ChemChina in February. The deal is still being reviewed by U.S. regulators.

Also in 2015, Dow Chemical and Du Pont merged to create DowDuPont, a company worth an estimated $130 billion.