Bayer-Monsanto merger finalized after years of pursuit

The days of waiting for Bayer is finally over. The Germany based pesticide firm has crossed the final hurdle in its $66 billion Monsanto (MON) takeover, with the US Department of Justice giving its blessing to the controversial merger of Bayer and the US-based seed maker.

After almost two years in pursuit, the deal between Bayer and Monsanto looks like it will finally go through the US antitrust sieve – with the two fusing to form the world’s largest seed and agricultural chemical provider. This approval comes as another blow for the struggling farmers who had earlier voiced concerns regarding a potential price hike. The environment groups and critics have also displayed their dismay towards the approval.

The Germany based pesticide firm has crossed the final hurdle in its $66 billion Monsanto (MON) takeover.

The clearance was granted after the two companies reached a decision to spin off assets worth $9 billion, making it the largest ever divestiture ever demanded by the regulators in the US. Based on the settlement, rival firm BASF will buy the assets from the Bayer. The divestment is seen as a remedy to competition. According to Bloomberg, Bayer is confident of closing the deal by June 14.

This controversial merger succeeded in getting a green signal from regulators in Europe, Brazil, Russia. The US regulators posed the final and the major hurdle.

The agri industry has seen quite a few significant deals in the past couple of years. Two major transactions that took place in 2017 were the merger of Dow-Dupont (DWDP) valued at $130 billion and Syngenta-ChemChina’s $43-billion deal.