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Monsanto
Monsanto soybean plants grow in a research field near Pirassununga, Brazil. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
Monsanto soybean plants grow in a research field near Pirassununga, Brazil. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Agricultural giant Monsanto drops bid for competitor after $47bn offer rejected

This article is more than 8 years old

A combination with Syngenta would have made Monsanto the world’s largest producer of farming chemicals, on top of its market-leading seed business

Agricultural business giant Monsanto is abandoning its takeover bid for competitor Syngenta AG after the Swiss chemical producer rejected its latest offer of nearly $47bn.

A combination with Basel-based Syngenta would have made Monsanto the world’s largest producer of farming chemicals, on top of its market-leading seed business. But the Swiss company rejected a series of unsolicited offers from the American company.

Monsanto confirmed on Wednesday that it had raised its offer last week to 470 francs per share, or nearly $47bn, from a previous offer of about $45bn. Additionally, the company confirmed it had raised its proposed breakup fee to $3bn from $2bn. That’s the amount Monsanto would have paid Syngenta if it had been unable to get regulatory approval to complete the deal.

But Monsanto says the enhanced offer “did not meet Syngenta’s financial expectations”. The St Louis-based company said in a statement it would “continue to focus on its growth opportunities built on its existing core business”.

In June, Syngenta’s chairman, Michel Demaré, said Monsanto’s offer undervalued the pesticide maker’s business, which “they are trying to buy on the cheap”. He also said that Monsanto was underestimating the antitrust challenges of combining the two companies.

Merging with Syngenta would have helped Monsanto diversify its chemical offerings beyond Roundup, the ubiquitous weed killer that long served as the cornerstone of Monsanto’s business. Sales of that chemical have been hurt in recent months by concerns about its safety when used in large-scale industrial farming.

In March the International Agency for Research on Cancer labelled Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, a “probable carcinogen”. The company has demanded a retraction from the group, a French research arm of the World Health Organization.

Monsanto Co shares rose $7.05, or 7.9%, to $96.44 in midday trading Wednesday. Shares of Syngenta AG fell more than 16%.

More on this story

More on this story

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  • ‘It’s a non-party political issue’: banning the weedkiller glyphosate

  • UN/WHO panel in conflict of interest row over glyphosate cancer risk

  • Glyphosate unlikely to pose risk to humans, UN/WHO study says

  • European commission plans to relicense 'carcinogenic' weedkiller

  • Colombia to use glyphosate in cocaine fight again

  • Medieval beer purity law has Germany's craft brewers over a barrel

  • Two-thirds of Europeans support ban on glyphosate, says Yougov poll

  • Vote on controversial weedkiller's European licence postponed

  • EU states rebel against plans to relicense weedkiller glyphosate

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