May 1, 2015
Monsanto bids to take over Syngenta anew
Will US seed giant Monsantoand leading Swiss crop chemicals maker Syngentafinally 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.