When Bayer completes its $63 billion purchase of Monsanto, which is expected to occur on Thursday, the world’s largest seed and agricultural company will be named Bayer, announced the giant German company on Monday, ending speculation on the new corporate identify. “Monsanto will no longer be a company name.”
“The acquisition of Monsanto is a strategic milestone in strengthening our portfolio of leading businesses in health and nutrition. We will double the size of our agriculture business and create a leading innovation engine in agriculture, positioning us to better serve our customers and unlock the long-term growth potential in the sector,” said Bayer chairman Werner Baumann in a statement.
In May 2016, Bayer and Monsanto, based in St. Louis, agreed to the merger. U.S. antitrust officials approved the deal a week ago, with a requirement for Bayer to sell seed and herbicide divisions to BASF to resolve anticompetitive concerns.
Completion of the merger will mark the end of a wave of consolidation in the seed and agricultural chemical business that reduced the field to three large companies from the previous six. Dow and DuPont, two U.S. companies, merged and the state-owned ChemChina purchased Syngenta, based is Switzerland.