Bayer pushes bid for Monsanto closer to $56 B
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG sweetened its bid for Monsanto Tuesday, saying that its latest offer, now worth almost $56 billion reflects, “constructive negotiations” in its quest to build a global chemical and seed company. Bayer is offering $127.50 per Monsanto share, up from $125 in July, a bid that the St. Louis seed company had called inadequate. Excluding debt of about $9 billion, the latest proposal values Monsanto at $55.8 billion, about $1 billion more than it had offered less than two months ago.
Monsanto confirmed the latest bid, also calling its ongoing negotiations with Bayer “constructive.”
“Monsanto is continuing these conversations as it evaluates this proposal, as well as proposals from other parties and other strategic alternatives,” it said in a company release.
A combination of the two businesses would create a giant seed and farm chemical company with a strong presence in the US, Europe, and Asia. Both are familiar brands on farms around the globe.
Bayer's farm business produces
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Oil prices rallied in Asia on Wednesday on the back of a weaker dollar but skepticism that key producers will agree to limit output at an upcoming meeting kept gains in check.
The dollar plunged after data Tuesday showed a sharp fall in the key US services sector, virtually wiping out any possibility of an interest rate hike this month.
The figures followed below-forecast readings on factory activity and jobs growth and sent investors fleeing the dollar, sending it tumbling against most other currencies – making crude cheaper.
At about 0705 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 34 cents to $45.17 and Brent crude was up 29 cents at $47.55.
With three weeks until a meeting in Algeria, oil traders are keeping tabs on Russia and OPEC hoping for signs they will find an agreement to address a global supply glut that has hammered prices for two years.
On Tuesday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country is committed to help stabilize the oil market after meeting OPEC chief Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo. seeds as well as compounds to kill weeds, bugs, and fungus. Monsanto produces seeds for fruits, vegetables and other crops including corn, soybeans and cotton, as well as the ubiquitous weed-killer Roundup.
In June, Monsanto reported a 37 percent plunge in profit with farmers under increasing financial pressure due to falling commodity prices. The company's revenue tumbled 8.5 percent to $4.19 billion, disappointing investors.
Monsanto Co. earlier this year announced that it had agreed to pay an $80 million penalty under a settlement to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it had not properly accounted for millions of dollars paid to distributors as Roundup rebates. That had the effect of distorting the company's earnings reports for 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The improper accounting occurred at a time when Monsanto was losing market share to competitors who sold generic herbicides for prices lower than Monsanto sold Roundup, the SEC has said.