According to a report at the International Business Times, the U.S. Justice Department will allow German drugs and pesticides group Bayer AG to acquire Monsanto Co. in a $62.5 billion deal, after the companies agreed to sell more assets to win antitrust approval, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Shares of Monsanto, the world's biggest seed company, approached a four-year high on the news, before closing up 6.2% at $125.15.
The takeover, one of a trio of major deals in the agribusiness sector in recent years, would create a company with a share of more than a quarter of the world's seed and pesticides market. A souring global farm economy has spurred consolidation among the major players, triggering protests from environmental and farming groups worried about their market power.
The Justice Department reached an agreement in principle with Bayer and Monsanto in recent days, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Under the deal, Bayer agreed to sell additional seed and treatment assets to BASF SE and agreed to make concessions related to digital agriculture, the Journal said.
Read the full report here.
