Bayer Prepares To Sell More Assets To Get Antitrust Approval For Monsanto Deal

(RTTNews) - German conglomerate Bayer AG (BAYZF.PK, BAYRY.PK, BYR.L) said Wednesday that it is preparing to sell more assets to win antitrust approval for its $60 billion-plus takeover of Monsanto Co. (MON).

"We have now also committed to divest our entire vegetable seed business. Certain additional business activities of Bayer and Monsanto may also be sold or out-licensed," Management Board Chairman Werner Baumann said on Wednesday at the Financial News Conference in Leverkusen.

In October, Bayer agreed to sell parts of its crop-science business to rival BASF SE for $7 billion in order to smooth the way for its purchase of St. Louis-based Monsanto.

Those assets could also be sold to BASF. In addition, Bayer has agreed to grant BASF a license for its digital-farming data, the wall Street Journal reported

The review of the Monsanto deal by the European Commission appears headed toward conditional approval, the Journal reported. The commission, which has flagged concern the deal could pressure farmers, is expected to decide by April 5.

Bayer has faced delays in winning approval for the deal in the U.S. and Europe partly because of negotiations over asset sales and the large amount of documents regulators have to process. The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust review continues.

Bayer said it received further approvals last year for the proposed acquisition of Monsanto. Only recently, the Brazilian antitrust authorities gave the green light. Overall, more than half of the around 30 authorities worldwide have now approved the acquisition.

"Although Bayer is continuing to cooperate closely with the institutions involved, it is becoming evident that the examination procedures will require more time. "Our goal now is to be able to close the transaction in the second quarter of 2018. This does not affect our expectation of a successful conclusion to the regulatory review, nor our conviction that this is the right step," said Baumann.

Bayer, which had hoped to close the deal early this year, is now aiming for completion in the second quarter. The deal was struck in September 2016 amid a wave of consolidation in the industry.

Bayer said the enterprise value of the Monsanto takeover has now fallen to $62.5 billion, from $66 billion, after the U.S. company paid down some of its debts.