WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2017 – Bayer has agreed to sell significant parts of its seed and non-selective herbicide businesses to BASF for nearly $7 billion, part of Bayer’s plans to divest the assets as it prepares to acquire Monsanto.
The sale is a key part of Bayer’s gaining regulatory approval for its acquisition of Monsanto. “We are taking an active approach to address potential regulatory concerns, with the goal of facilitating a successful close of the Monsanto transaction,” Werner Baumann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, said. “At the same time, we are pleased that, in BASF, we have found a strong buyer for our businesses that will continue to serve the needs of growers and offer our employees long-term prospects.”
“The assets to be acquired,” said BASF, “include Bayer’s global glufosinate-ammonium non-selective herbicide business, commercialized under the Liberty, Basta and Finale brands, as well as its seed businesses for key row crops in select markets: canola hybrids in North America under the InVigor brand using the LibertyLink trait technology, oilseed rape mainly in European markets, cotton in the Americas and Europe as well as soybean in the Americas. The transaction also includes Bayer’s trait research and breeding capabilities for these crops and the LibertyLink trait and trademark.”
For calendar year 2016, sales of the Bayer assets were around $1.54 billion. “The transaction is subject to the closing of Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto and approval by relevant authorities,” BASF said. “It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.”
“With this investment, we are seizing the opportunity to acquire highly attractive assets in key row crops and markets,” said Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. “It will be a strategic complement to BASF’s well-established and successful crop protection business as well as to our own activities in biotechnology.”
“The transaction includes the transfer of relevant intellectual property and facilities, as well as more than 1,800 employees primarily in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Canada and Belgium,” Bayer said. “As part of the agreement, BASF has committed to maintain all permanent positions, under similar conditions, for at least three years after closing of the transaction.”
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