Acquisition of Monsanto
Bayer puts seed breeder Nunhems up for sale
Bayer puts the Limburg seed breeding company Nunhems up for sale. This is necessary to enable the acquisition of the American billion-dollar company Monsanto. This takeover is not without a struggle. This is apparent during the presentation of Bayer's annual figures.
Nunhems is the fourth largest vegetable seed company and Monsanto is number 1. The reason for the sale is that both companies cannot be part of Bayer at the same time, in order to prevent cartel formation. The fear is that there will be too little competition in the crop protection and seeds sectors.
nunhems
Among arable farmers, Nunhems is mainly known for its open field crops, such as carrots and spinach. The company has 2.000 employees worldwide and generated sales of €430 million. Bayer puts Nunhems up for sale with all intellectual property rights and (production) locations.
Several sources report to AGF that Syngenta, a competitor of Bayer, is very interested in acquiring the seed company. However, there would also be other interested parties.
Monsanto deal
Bayer brings with Nunhems business units again on the market, having previously sold several divisions of agricultural seeds to BASF. Bayer hopes to receive approval from the European Commission for the Monsanto deal.
This deal was already delayed, partly due to resistance from environmental organizations in Europe. However, Bayer now hopes to complete the deal in the second quarter of this year. The company had a turnover of approximately €35 billion last year. Net profit rose sharply to €7,3 billion.
Anne-Jan Doorn
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.