May 1, 2015

Monsanto bids to take over Syngenta anew

Will US seed giant Monsanto and leading Swiss crop chemicals maker Syngenta finally merge?

A report by Bloomberg News said that Monsanto has again offered to take over Syngenta and this sent the latter's New York Exchange-traded ADR shares surging 14.1% in post-market trade to US$76.50 on Thursday (Friday in Asia). Monsanto was also higher by 3.6% to $118.07, according to Agence France-Presse.

Bloomberg, citing two reliable sources, reported that the two firms recently held discussions on a possible merger but that Syngenta aired its concerns that regulators could challenge it on antitrust grounds.

Earlier in June last year, talks of a possible merger of the two companies were also reported, but this did not materialize.

No price for the buyout was given but Syngenta's known market value is $31 billion. Monsanto is worth $54 billion.

The buyout of Syngenta would make Monsanto the biggest seeds and crop chemicals company in the world, according to Bloomberg.