What will happen next in the agrochemical business? Bayer offered 62 Billion Dollars (55 Billion Euros) for a take-over of Monsanto! Regarding the turn-over of Bayer Crop Science (BCS) of 10.4 Billion Dollars last year this offer reflects a resonable investment. Bayer shares dropped by 8% after publication of the intention.
Monsanto is a US company and mainly active in the seed business with transgenic cultivars, i.e. glyphosate resistant varieties of maize, soybean, cotton and others. To me it is not the most sophisticated and competitive company in the business. And the reputation and recognition especially in Europe is bad. I ask myself: why does BCS want to invest this amount of money to destroy it’s own reputation? People working in the field of the registration of agrochemicals in the EU know the issue with glyphosate.
Monsanto refused the offer from BCS. The rumors in the news go on: was this offer only a pressure for a stronger collaboration with BASF? Or is BASF without any seed business interested itself in Monsanto?
The pressure seems to be hard. However, why growth for every price? And it is only quantitaive growth, not qualitative. Do you remember the effort of Monsanto for the take-over of Syngenta? Syngenta was founded by the fusion of the agrochemical sections of Novartis and AstraZeneca. Could this be a model for Bayer and BASF?
The show must go on!