Ah, capitalism. Remember when Bayer was about to buy Monsanto (earlier this year)? Well another big fish, BASF, is in the pond and is gonna try to swallow Bayer. May they all gag! Tony
https://in.reuters.com/article/basf-seeds-bayer/basf- to-harvest-seeds-herbicide-businesses-from-bayer-for-7-billion-idINKBN1CI0S9 BASF to harvest seeds, herbicide businesses from Bayer for $7 billion Maria Sheahan <https://in.reuters.com/journalists/maria-sheahan> EDITED BASF has agreed to buy seed and herbicide businesses from Bayer for 5.9 billion euros ($7 billion) in cash, as Bayer tries to convince competition authorities to approve its planned acquisition of Monsanto. BASF, the world’s third-largest maker of crop chemicals, has so far avoided seed assets and instead pursued research into plant characteristics such as drought tolerance, which it sells or licenses out to seed developers. But Bayer’s $66 billion deal to buy U.S. seeds group Monsanto, announced in September 2016, has created opportunities for rivals to snatch up assets that need to be sold to satisfy competition authorities. Bayer said it would use the proceeds to partly refinance the Monsanto acquisition. Bayer has to sell the LibertyLink-branded seeds and Liberty herbicide businesses, which generated 2016 sales of 1.3 billion euros, because they compete with Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer and Roundup Ready seeds. LibertyLink seeds, used by soy, cotton and canola growers, are one alternative to Roundup Ready seeds for farmers suffering from weeds that have developed resistance to the Roundup herbicide, also known as glyphosate. The spread of Roundup-resistant weeds in North America has been a major driver behind Liberty sales. “BASF’s decision to acquire seeds assets represents something of a change to its prior view on its needs to respond to recent industry consolidation in agriculture,” Morgan Stanley analysts said. Bayer said it continued to work with the authorities to close the Monsanto purchase by early 2018. Deutsche Bank advised BASF on the deal, while BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse advised Bayer. ($1 = 0.8442 euros) -- Let’s fill in all the weak spaces With a love so bold it makes us whole. -Andrea Weiser, from "Threadbare Happiness" For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.
