The seed and pesticide giant Monsanto Co. has ended its attempt to buy Syngenta, its Swiss rival, says Deutsche Welle. Syngenta said the offer of $46 billion was too low and a merger would be difficult to carry out because of an antitrust review that could raise objections. Monsanto said it would focus on “growth opportunities built on its existing core business to deliver the next wave of transformational solutions for agriculture.” After the announcement by Monsanto, its shares rose 8 percent and Syngenta’s dropped 18 percent. Six companies dominate agrochemical sales around the world: Syngenta, Bayer CropScience, BASF, Dow Agrosciences, Monsanto and DuPont.
The Des Moines Register said the end of the takeover bid was welcomed by farmers who worried that a merger would limit seed options and lead to higher prices. “The more options we have for companies to work with, the better,” Iowa farmer Colin Johnson told the Register. Monsanto and Syngenta account for 45 percent of the global seed market while Iowa-based DuPont Pioneer has 20 percent, it said.