Deals
Bayer’s Monsanto Bid Dismays Investors With Debt Concerns
- Shares of Bayer drop by most since March 2009 in Frankfurt
- Size of takeover offer not disclosed by either company
Bayer Pursues Monsanto in Unsolicited $45 Billion Bid
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Bayer AG’s unsolicited takeover offer for Monsanto Co. met with skepticism as concerns mounted that the German company would need to take on too much debt and dilute equity holdings in its quest to acquire an embattled target.
Shares of Bayer plunged by the most in seven years in Frankfurt after the drugmaker confirmed an offer to buy the world’s largest seed producer, which has a market value of about $45 billion, for an undisclosed amount. Monsanto’s stock also posted muted gains, rising less than 5 percent. Bloomberg News was first to report a week ago that Bayer was exploring a bid to become the world’s biggest supplier of farm chemicals.