Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer has filed a request for approval of its planned US$66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds company Monsanto with European Union regulators, as suitors line up for assets that Bayer will sell to get the approval by year-end.
Bayer, which is bracing for the EU Commission to go into an in-depth antitrust assessment of the merger, said in a statement on Friday it would work closely with the authorities, reaffirming its goal to wrap up the transaction by the end of 2017.
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“We can confirm receipt of the notification. The provisional deadline for the Commission to take a decision is 7 August,” an EU Commission spokeswoman said.
Bayer, whose request for U.S. approval is pending, last month pledged to make major asset sales to see the deal through, putting the Liberty herbicide and LibertyLink-branded seeds businesses on the auction block.
BASF said it was hoping for a bargain among antitrust-related selloffs and might overcome its traditional reluctance to expand into the seeds industry, while Switzerland’s Syngenta is keen to bolster its sub-scale seeds operations.
Bayer warned on Friday it would have to adjust its full-year outlook, citing high inventory levels at crop protection customers in Brazil and a weaker-than-expected consumer health business.
— Reporting for Reuters by Patricia Weiss and Foo Yun Chee; writing by Ludwig Burger.
