The marriage of Monsanto and Bayer AG took a step closer to becoming reality on Tuesday when shareholders of St. Louis-based Monsanto approved the latter's takeover bid. Under terms of the $66 billion deal, which is expected to close in late 2017, Monsanto shareholders will receive $128 per share. The deal still must pass regulatory review.
"This is an important milestone as we work to combine our two complementary companies and deliver on our shared vision for the future of agriculture," said Hugh Grant, Monsanto chairman and chief executive officer. "By bringing together our expertise and our resources to drive this shared vision, we can do even more together to benefit growers around the world and to help address broad global challenges like climate change and food scarcity."Getting to this point hasn't been automatic.
A deal was reached in September, but that came four months after Monsanto shareholders rejected a similar proposal in May.
"The acquisition of Monsanto is driven by our strong belief that this combination can help address the growing challenges facing farmers and the overall agriculture industry today and in the future," said Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer AG.
The buyout follows other similar deals, including a $130 billion merger between Dow and DuPont and a $43 billion buyout of Syngenta by the China National Chemical Corp.
Monsanto has long been considered a coup for any chemical company in a takeover bid because of its presence in the ag seed market. Monsanto is the world's largest seed producer and a leader in genetically modified foods and seeds. Bayer AG, whose subsidiaries include Bayer Environmental Science, makes a host of products for the healthcare, agriculture and chemical industries.
Once the deal is completed, the combined agriculture business, according to Bayer, will have its global Seeds and Traits and North American commercial headquarters in St. Louis, its global Crop Protection and overall Crop Science headquarters in Monheim, Germany, as well as its presence in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.