Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Hedge fund Paulson + Co. has taken a stake in Syngenta, and could push for the board of directors of the Swiss pesticide maker to accept a takeover offer from U.S. seed company Monsanto, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, made a US$45 billion bid for […] Read more
Influential hedge fund takes stake in Syngenta
Monsanto to invest over $1B in dicamba
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Monsanto’s efforts to expand its agrichemical interests beyond what has long been its bread-and-butter glyphosate business were underscored on Wednesday by news the company plans to invest potentially more than US$1 billion in production of an alternative herbicide. Monsanto officials expect to spend the money over the next three to five years expanding […] Read more
Syngenta tests investor support for Monsanto opposition
Reading Time: 2 minutes Zurich/Frankfurt | Reuters — Syngenta will sound out shareholders in the coming days for their views on the Swiss crop chemicals maker’s opposition to rival Monsanto’s US$45 billion takeover approach. Any takeover offer needs to be at a fair price and provide a high degree of certainty that it will clear regulatory hurdles, Syngenta chairman […] Read more
Syngenta rejects Monsanto’s break fee offer
Reading Time: < 1 minute Monsanto’s offer of a US$2 billion break fee if it can’t get regulatory approval for a merger with crop biotech and ag chem rival Syngenta has been rejected. The offer, made in a letter from St. Louis-based Monsanto on Saturday, “represents the same inadequate price, same inadequate regulatory undertakings to close, same regulatory risks and same […] Read more
Monsanto sweetens Syngenta play with $2B break fee
Reading Time: < 1 minute New York | Reuters –– U.S. seed and ag chem firm Monsanto has offered to pay a US$2 billion reverse break-up fee to Syngenta if it can’t obtain global regulatory approvals for an acquisition, it said in a statement on Sunday. The move, under which Monsanto would pay the fee if regulators reject the proposal, […] Read more
Prairie farmers scramble for canola seed after frost
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters –– Western Canadian farmers are scrambling to find scarce canola seed as they reseed crops snuffed out by frost and insects. Farmers in the region have until mid- to late June to plant ahead of insurance deadlines, but the later they sow canola, the higher the risk of damage later from heat […] Read more
Sources say BASF mulling potential bid for Syngenta
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — German chemicals group BASF is considering a potential offer for Syngenta, its Swiss rival which has received a C$56 billion takeover offer from Monsanto, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. BASF is speaking to investment bankers about the possibility of an offer for Syngenta, though it has made no decision and […] Read more
Monsanto’s move on Syngenta could mean move away from glyphosate
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, is also known for the popularity of its Roundup herbicide, beloved by farmers and homeowners alike for its speed and deadly assault on tough weeds. But Monsanto’s ongoing efforts to try to take over Swiss ag chem firm Syngenta, a rival whose product portfolio offers an array […] Read more
Monsanto says would divest all of Syngenta’s seed business
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, said Wednesday it plans to divest Syngenta’s seeds and genetic traits businesses as well as some overlapping chemistry assets to win regulatory approval for a takeover of its Swiss rival. “We intend to make this a really clean deal… really easy to get done,” Monsanto president Brett […] Read more
As it woos Syngenta, Monsanto mounts campaign to combat critics
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — As seed and chemical maker Monsanto woos Swiss ag chem firm Syngenta, Monsanto also is trying to win over consumers in key international markets, rolling out social media and marketing campaigns. U.S.-based Monsanto said it has recently launched interactive consumer-oriented websites in China, France, India, Argentina and Brazil, in addition to a lead […] Read more
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