=Monsanto (MON) : Justice Department will approve the proposed $66 billion Bayer (BAYRY)

The companies have promised to sell off additional assets to secure antitrust approval, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann and Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant reportedly met with DOJ officials recently.

The European Union OK'd the merger late last month.

Monsanto, known for its Round Up herbicide and genetically modified seeds, soared 6.4% to 125.41 on the stock market today. German drug and chemical giant Bayer rallied 2.7% to 29.42

Clearing Hurdles
Stock in St. Louis-based Monsanto tumbled last month as DOJ antitrust officials feared that a Bayer-Monsanto merger would hurt competition.

Bayer's $66 billion takeover of Monsanto is part of a wave of consolidation that has swept seed and crop-chemical firms.

The companies are seeking approval from U.S. and European officials after two previous deals won antitrust clearance. That includes the Dow Chemical and DuPont merger into DowDuPont (DWDP) and China National Chemical Corp.'s takeover of Syngenta.

Monsanto (MON) to be acquired by Bayer for $128 per share in cash

• Bayer AG’s $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co. is producing a big payday for a small advisory firm founded last year by a team of bankers who left Perella Weinberg Partners in an acrimonious split.
• Ducera Partners LLC, led by Michael Kramer, is advising Monsanto, and is in line for at least half of the $110 million in estimated fees going to the seller’s bankers, according to acquisition consultant Freeman & Co. Morgan Stanley also advised Monsanto.
• New York-based Ducera’s website lists nine employees, eight of whom previously worked at Perella Weinberg. Kramer, Derron Slonecker and two other former members of the firm’s restructuring group -- Joshua Scherer and Adam Verost -- were fired in 2015, then sued the investment bank for wrongful termination. The team secured work advising a group of Puerto Rico’s bondholders that summer.
• Bayer corporate crimes: https://corporatewatch.org/company-profiles/bayer-ag-corporate-crimes

Monsanto, the American maker of fertilizers and agriculture products, agreed on Wednesday to a takeover by Bayer, the German chemical conglomerate, for $56 billion after months of negotiations.

Bayer will acquire Monsanto for $128 per share in cash, according to a statement released by the companies. That price represents a 44 percent premium to Monsanto’s stock on May 9, the day before Bayer’s interest in a deal first surfaced. Including the assumption of debt, the transaction is valued at more than $66 billion.

Roundup herbicide at a Monsanto production plant in Antwerp, Belgium, in June.

The deal is among the largest German corporate takeovers of an American company, and would make Bayer the world’s largest supplier of seeds and farm chemicals, according to a recent note by Argus Research. But it faces the risk of government opposition at a time when regulators have not been shy in quashing transactions over antitrust concerns.

Bayer has also settled on a $2B break-up fee for the deal, which is expected to close by the end of 2017.

Bayer has confirmed its offer to acquire Monsanto (NYSE:MON) with a $122 per share all-cash bid that values the U.S. agribusiness at $62B. 

   

The drug and chemicals giant anticipates annual earnings contributions from synergies of around $1.5B after three years, and said it would finance the deal through a combination of debt and equity. Sources say Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY) would likely abandon the Monsanto name following the purchase, like it has done with previous acquisitions.