EU scrutinises $66bn Bayer takeover deal for Monsanto
THE biggest deal in the agri-chemicals market is under fresh scrutiny as the European Commission is launching an “in-depth investigation” into Bayer’s proposed $66bn (£51bn) takeover of Monsanto.
Officials said they will look into the implications for customers of the planned combined entity, using competition laws to mount the probe.
“Seeds and pesticide products are es- sential for farmers and ultimately consumers,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU commissioner in charge of competition policy. “We need to ensure effective competition so that farmers can have access to innovative products, better quality and also purchase prod- ucts at competitive prices, and at the same time maintain an environment where companies can innovate and invest in improved products.”
She has a series of specific concerns across different parts of the companies’ business, fearing the deal could potentially lead to higher prices, lower quality, less choice and less innovation. The two companies produce some of the most widely used non-selective herbicides, the EC said, and by combining they could seriously reduce competition. On top of that they are two of the only firms capable of directing significant resources to creating new alternatives in that market.
Both firms also overlap in the bee pesticides market. Monsanto, based in the US, and Bayer, of Germany, both breed vegetable seeds and compete with each other particularly intensively in the oilseed rape market.
“Bayer believes that the proposed combination will be highly beneficial for farmers and consumers, and will continue to work closely and constructively with the European Commission in its investigation,” the German entity said.