Deal was originally announced in November 2015
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
The United States Justice Department is suing John Deere in an attempt to block the organization from purchasing Precision Planting from Monsanto.
This deal had originally been announced by both companies in November 2015.
The Antitrust Division of the Justice Department said the transaction would combine the only two significant American providers of high-speed planting systems and deny farmers the benefits of competition.
The department estimates that Deere and Precision Planting hold about 86 per cent of the precision planting market.
“If this deal were allowed to proceed, Deere would dominate the market for high-speed precision planting systems and be able to raise prices and slow innovation at the expense of American farmers who rely on these systems,” Renata Hesse, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a release.
Deere disagrees and is challenging the lawsuit.
"The Department of Justice's allegations about the competitive impacts of the transacation are misguided and the companies (John Deere and Monsanto) intend to defend the transaction vigorously against those allegations," Deere said in a release. “The proposed acquisition benefits farmers by accelerating the development and delivery of new precision equipment solutions that help farmers increase yield and productivity.”