Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s Competition Bureau says it’s “actively reviewing” BASF’s suitability as a buyer of the crop seed and chemical assets Bayer has to sell to get the bureau’s blessing to buy Monsanto. The Competition Bureau said Wednesday it has an agreement with Bayer to deal with “concerns that the proposed transaction would have significantly harmed competition […] Read more
Canada clears Bayer’s Monsanto play, with conditions
Bayer wins U.S. nod for Monsanto deal to create ag giant
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt/Washington | Reuters — Bayer won U.S. approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto after agreeing to sell about US$9 billion in assets, clearing a major hurdle for the US$62.5 billion deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. Makan Delrahim, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s (DoJ) antitrust division, said […] Read more
Bayer cuts Monsanto synergy target on divestments
Reading Time: < 1 minute Bonn | Reuters — Bayer said positive synergy effects from the planned takeover of U.S. seeds and chemical firm Monsanto would be about US$300 million below its previous target because it will sell more businesses than initially expected to get antitrust approval. Bayer CEO Werner Baumann again threw his weight behind the deal, despite higher […] Read more
The youth solution for feeding the world
Young aggies like Cameron Olson and Alexis Wagner know that feeding a hungry planet will be the challenge of their lifetimes, which is why they’re so ready to listen even to those with seemingly unfriendly views
Reading Time: 7 minutes More than 1,000 18- to 25-year-olds from 95 countries submitted essays to qualify for the third Youth-Ag Summit held this past October in Belgium, with 100 delegates actually getting a ticket. Among them were four young Canadians. Sponsored by Bayer, the summit gave youth an opportunity to discuss one of the most pressing questions the […] Read more
EU nations back ban on all outdoor neonic use
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — European Union countries backed a proposal on Friday to ban all use outdoors of insecticides known as neonicotinoids that studies have shown can harm bees. The ban, championed by environmental activists, covers the use of three active substances — imidacloprid, developed by Bayer CropScience; clothianidin, developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and […] Read more
BASF set to pick up Bayer’s Poncho, ILeVO treatments
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bayer’s seed treatments Poncho and ILeVO could soon have a new owner, as part of another deal with fellow German chemical firm BASF. BASF, which last October agreed to buy several Bayer CropScience assets including its global glufosinate-ammonium herbicide business and LibertyLink trait, announced another 1.7 billion-euro (C$2.65 billion) deal Thursday for an additional package […] Read more
Germany moving ahead with plans to restrict glyphosate
Reading Time: 2 minutes Berlin | Reuters — German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner on Tuesday said she was finalizing a draft regulation to end use of glyphosate herbicide in household gardens, parks and sports facilities, and to set “massive” limits for its use in agriculture. The chemical, made by Monsanto, is at the centre of a heated debate in […] Read more
Singapore firm hikes Bayer stake in share sale
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — German drugmaker Bayer is raising three billion euros (C$4.67 billion) toward its planned US$62.5 billion takeover of seed and chemical firm Monsanto by selling a 3.6 per cent stake to Singapore’s state investment company Temasek. Bayer said it had struck a deal with Temasek under which it would issue shares with […] Read more
Bayer to sell digital farming business to BASF
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — Germany’s Bayer plans to sell its digital farming business to BASF as part of changes to concessions it has offered to win over antitrust regulators for its proposed takeover of Monsanto . Bayer, which had previously only agreed to grant a licence to competitors, said on Wednesday that as part of […] Read more
Bayer gets U.S. approval to buy Monsanto: report
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — German drugs and pesticides group Bayer has reached a deal with the U.S. Justice Department for antitrust approval for its US$62.5 billion bid to acquire Monsanto by agreeing to sell additional assets, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The Justice Department reached an agreement in principle with the two companies in recent days, […] Read more