MOSCOW (MRC) -- A year after Monsanto Co sparked a massive consolidation race in the agrochemical industry by bidding for a rival, the world's largest seed company now finds itself in the uncomfortable role of takeover target, said Reuters.
Monsanto shares rallied as much as 12 percent on Thursday on new reports that Bayer AG and BASF SE were interested in the St. Louis-based company, highlighting the drive for more marriages in the sector. Bloomberg News reported Bayer was exploring a bid for Monsanto, while financial news website Street Insider reported that BASF was looking at a Monsanto acquisition.
Monsanto, Bayer and BASF all declined to comment. Talk of such deals has swirled for months as Monsanto faced mounting corporate woes and rivals met with advisers to weigh various deal combinations.
Both Bayer and BASF have been exploring tie-ups with Monsanto for several months, but valuation concerns have made a deal elusive, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The sources said both were concerned about the price Monsanto shareholders would want, emboldened by recent deals. Consolidation has been spurred by high inventories and low prices for agricultural commodities.
ChemChina agreed in February to acquire Switzerland's Syngenta AG for USD43 billion after Dow Chemical Co and DuPont inked a deal to combine into a USD130 billion company in December.
Still, some analysts were skeptical such a deal involving Monsanto would go through, or were even necessary for Bayer or BASF even though combining businesses would be complementary.
MRC