The Justice Department has decided to allow Bayer AG to acquire Monsanto Co., valued at more than $60 billion, after the companies pledged to sell off additional assets to secure government antitrust approval, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It’s unclear what impact, if any, the deal would have on Monsanto’s plant in Luling. Monsanto began a $975 million expansion of the plant in 2016. Construction was expected to be completed in mid-2019.
An agreement in principle between the companies and the department, brokered in recent days, marks a breakthrough in the U.S. merger review process, which had remained in limbo because of Justice Department concerns about the deal. Monsanto shares rose more than 6% in late trading after the Journal reported on the Justice Department’s decision.
The companies announced the deal in September 2016 to create a new agricultural powerhouse. Bayer, a German pharmaceutical and chemical conglomerate, is a leading player in the pesticide industry, while St. Louis-based Monsanto is a market leader on seeds and crop genes. The deal will make Bayer the world’s biggest supplier of pesticides and seeds for farmers.
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