Bayer to Sell Its Vegetable Seed Business

Split view of Monsanto and Bayer company signageIn its preparation to acquire Monsanto, Bayer will be selling its entire vegetable seed business, CEO Werner Baumann said in a press conference on February 28. He was addressing stockholders about the company’s year-end fiscal report.

Advertisement

Anti-trust concerns are driving the decision to divest vegetable seed properties, Baumann said. Nunhems, Bayer’s vegetable seed division, sells about 1,200 varieties among its 25 vegetable crops. Monsanto also has a robust vegetable seed business with Seminis.

The acquisition, which was announced in mid 2017, must thread the needle of international anti-trust laws. When the Monsanto purchase was first announced, Bayer hoped it would be completed in early 2018 at the latest.

“Our goal now is to be able to close the transaction in the second quarter of 2018,” Baumann said.

Baumann did not mention who may buy Nunhems. He also explained that other properties my be sold, both from within Bayer as well as Monsanto. He did not, however, indicated that any of those additional business would involve the vegetable industry.

Top Articles
Have a Plan For Climate Change? Why Fruit Growers Need To Act Now

0