Mega deal: Bayer-Monsanto $66B merger wins conditional Department of Justice approval

Kevin McCoy | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption $66B Bayer-Monsanto merger would touch nearly all of us From the food on our tables to the medicines in our cabinets, Bayer and Monsanto are behind more products than many people realize.

The $66 billion merger of agribusiness giants Bayer and Monsanto won conditional U.S. antitrust approval Tuesday after the rival companies agreed to a record-setting sell-off of roughly $9 billion of assets to maintain market competition.

Germany-based Bayer will divest its seed and herbicide businesses to competing German chemical company BASF as part of the agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Bayer will also sell an array of intellectual property and research and development projects.

The sell-offs are designed to stop the combined Bayer-Monsanto from exerting control over the prices that consumers and farmers pay for agricultural products.

Bayer's 2016-announced acquisition plan for St. Louis-based seed and pesticide rival Monsanto would have been deemed unlawful without the divestitures because the deal likely would have spurred "higher prices, lower quality and fewer choices" for many seed and crop protection products, the Department of Justice said.

In its original form, the proposed merger also " threatened to stifle the innovation in agricultural technologies that has delivered significant benefits to American farmers and consumers," the department said.

"This comprehensive structural solution" to significant antitrust concerns "preserves competition in the sale of these critical agricultural products and protects American farmers and consumers," said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the department's Antitrust Division.

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The spin-offs represent the largest merger divestiture ever required by the U.S., said Delrahim.

The agreement requires approval from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where the proposed settlement was filed on Tuesday.

Bayer said it has now secured "almost all clearances" needed from other governments around the world to finalize the deal. the divestments to BASF should be completed in approximately two months, Bayer said.

“Receipt of the DOJ’s approval brings us close to our goal of creating a leading company in agriculture,” Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said in a statement issued after the agreement. “We want to help farmers across the world grow more nutritious food in a more sustainable way.”

Bayer still awaits pending approvals from other governments. Once the acquisition is completed, Bayer said it will become Monsanto's sole shareholder.

Shares of Monsanto closed 0.7% higher at $127.41 in Tuesday trading.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc