Bayer says Monsanto closing to be delayed until Q2

BERLIN: Bayer AG said it expects to close the US$66bil acquisition of Monsanto Co by the middle of this year, needing more time to complete its transformation into the world’s biggest producer of seeds.

The deal will probably be completed in the second quarter, the Leverkusen, Germanybased company said yesterday in a statement.

The April 5 deadline for a decision from European merger regulators is nearing, and farming technology and divestment of a portfolio of vegetable seeds have emerged as key final details in the talks.

The deal with Monsanto has eclipsed other strategic moves at Bayer and is poised to transform one of the world’s oldest drugmakers – the inventor of Aspirin – into more of a force in the agriculture business than it is in pharmaceuticals.

“This does not affect our expectation of a successful conclusion to the regulatory review,” chief executive officer Werner Baumann ( pic) said in the statement.

Bayer has committed to divest the entire vegetable seed business. “Certain additional business activities of Bayer and Monsanto may also be sold or out-licenced.”

Bayer previously said it expected to conclude the Monsanto purchase early this year.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation will probably be in line with the level of last year, while sales will reach about 35 billion euros (US$43bil), Bayer said.

Last year’s Ebitda before special costs fell 0.3% to 9.3 billion euros, matching the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.