Werner Baumann (left), CEO of Bayer AG, and Hugh Grant, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monsanto

Pharmaceutical giant, Bayer AG, has acquired global agricultural company, Monsanto, in a USD $66 billion deal.

The acquisition has resulted in the world’s largest seller of farming chemicals and seeds.

Both companies settled on the USD $66 billion figure after Monsanto rejected Bayer’s original USD $62 billion offer in May 2016.

Bayer Chief Executive Officer, Werner Baumann, said the acquisition represents a major step forward in Bayer’s Crop Science business whilst Monsanto’s CEO, Hugh Grant, said it was a testament to what Monsanto had achieved.

“We believe that this combination with Bayer represents the most compelling value for our shareowners, with the most certainty through the all-cash consideration,” Grant said.

Bayer said it will benefit from Monsanto’s leadership in seeds, traits and its climate corporation platform.

Large research and development budget comes out of merger

The merger of the two businesses is expected to create a research and development budget of EUR 2.5 billion.

“The agriculture industry is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges of our time: how to feed an additional 3 billion people in the world by 2050 in an environmentally sustainable way,” said Liam Condon, head of Bayer’s Crop Science Division.

“It has been both companies’ belief that this challenge requires a new approach that more systematically integrates expertise across Seeds, Traits and Crop Protection including Biologicals with a deep commitment to innovation and sustainable agriculture practices,” he said.

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