Monsanto may not accept Bayer’s acquisition offer

May 24, 2016

Statement released on May 24

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Monsanto may reject Bayer’s $62 billion acquisition bid.

“(The) Board of Directors unanimously views the Bayer AG proposal as incomplete and financially inadequate,” the company said in a May 24 press release.

Hugh Grant, Monsanto Chairman and CEO, said the offer was lacking in two areas.

“The current proposal significantly undervalues our company and also does not adequately address or provide reassurance for some of the potential financing and regulatory execution risks related to the acquisition,” he said in the release.

Rejected

Monsanto said its open to conversations regarding possible transactions but won’t comment any further.

According to some industry experts, the ball is back in Bayer’s court.

Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.’s Jonas Oxgaard, an analyst with the New York-based office, told Bloomberg that any offers below $135 per share would be tough for Monsanto to agree to; Bayer’s original offer was $122 per share, which represented a 37 per cent premium.

According to data from Thomson Reuters, the deal between Monsanto and Bayer could be the largest all-cash takeover in history.

That title is currently held by InBev SA’s $60.4 billion offer for Anheuster-Busch in June 2008.

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