Chris Hughes, Columnist

Bayer's Lucky General Wins Recruits for $66 Billion Monsanto Deal

Bayer's long-running takeover of Monsanto is starting to look more attractive.

April 10, 2018 at 11:07 AM UTC

Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. Previously, he worked for Reuters Breakingviews, the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper.

1523360161_cabbage — Photographer: Jasper Juinen

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Werner Baumann caused a mighty stink when he launched a pricey takeover bid for Monsanto Co. just weeks after becoming CEO of German pharma group Bayer AG in May 2016. He turns out to be a lucky general.

The deal to create a world leader in crop science has won U.S. Justice Department approval, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Monsanto, best known for genetically modified seeds, jumped to just below the $128 a share offer price, while Bayer stock enjoyed its biggest gain since 2015.