Monsanto Sets Date for Board Vote on Bayer Merger in Dec.

Monsanto, the world’s largest seed provider, announced Tuesday that its board of directors will meet on Dec. 13 at the company’s Chesterfield, MO R&D headquarters to vote on German pharmaceutical company Bayer’s $66 billion merger proposal.

Preceding the announcement from the St. Louis-headquartered company Tuesday, the Bayer Group’s management board chairman Werner Baumann called the proposed combination “a perfect fit” in a Oct. 26 press release outlining the German company’s third quarter performance report.

“The announcement that we had reached agreement to acquire Monsanto is a major strategic milestone for Bayer. We will be creating a global leader in agriculture and, at the same time, reinforcing our leadership position as a Life Science company,” Baumann said in a statement.

Bayer signed a binding agreement to purchase Monsanto on Sept. 14 for a total transaction value of about $66 billion. While the transaction still must be approved by regulators in the United States and European Union, the German company said it plans on initiating the approval process in the U.S. in 2016 and in the E.U. in the first quarter of next year. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017.

A Wall Street Journal report on Oct. 26 noted that the proposed transaction could “face an uphill battle” as similar potential mergers and acquisitions have come under increased regulatory scrutiny. The Journal noted that Dow Chemical Co.’s merger with DuPont Co. is currently facing an antitrust review from European Union regulators.

For related articles, news, and equipment reviews, visit our Equipment Zones