Monsanto, the U.S. seeds giant headquartered in Creve Coeur, has agreed to a $66 billion, all-cash takeover by German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer after months of negotiations.
The Bayer-Monsanto deal is the largest all-cash bid on record, beating out another expensive St. Louis company takeover, InBev’s $60.4 billion offer for Anheuser-Busch in 2008. Bayer’s latest bid offers $128 per share, up from the company’s initial offer of $122 per share in May.
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“Today’s announcement is a testament to everything we’ve achieved and the value that we have created for our stakeholders at Monsanto,” said Hugh Grant, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monsanto. “We believe that this combination with Bayer represents the most compelling value for our shareowners, with the most certainty through the all-cash consideration.”
The St. Louis region will still have an important role to play in the agrochemical company if the deal closes. Bayer says St. Louis will be the North American commercial headquarters and house the global seeds and traits division. Other important offices will be North Carolina, California, and Germany.
Incorporating Monsanto’s seeds business will give Bayer more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in the competitive agrobusiness industry. The deal is expected to close by 2017, but Bayer will pay Monsanto a $2 billion break fee if regulators fail to clear the deal.
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