Monsanto Co.’s agreement to a takeover by Bayer AG… caps a whirlwind year and a half of deal making that has reshaped… seed and pesticide sector.
In the past year, Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont agreed to merge while China National Chemical Corp. is buying Swiss company Syngenta AG. If all three deals pass regulatory muster, the emerging three entities would effectively control more than three-quarters of U.S. corn-seed sales and 70% of the world’s pesticides.
The companies say the deals will help them bring new products to markets faster and lead to bigger profits for farmers in the long run. But some farmers worry that a shrinking number of suppliers could mean higher prices for seeds and crop-chemicals and fewer overall products.
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The prospect of higher costs for farm supplies comes at a time when U.S. growers are navigating a multiyear slump in agricultural commodity prices and farm profits…
Some farmers say enough players remain in the marketplace to promote competition or see the deals as a reasonable byproduct of several years of reduced profitability in the sector.
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On [Sept. 14], Monsanto agreed to a takeover by Bayer for $66 billion including debt.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. WSJ subscribers can read full article: Bayer Deal for Monsanto Caps Reshaping of Seed and Pesticide Sector
