Bayer, Monsanto in $88b deal that could reshape the world’s food supply

From Drew Harwell:

The German chemical company Bayer said it will take over US seed giant Monsanto to become one of the world’s biggest agriculture conglomerates.

The $US66 billion ($88 billion) deal – the largest corporate mega-merger in a year full of them – could reshape the development of seeds and pesticides necessary to fuelling the planet’s food supply…..

Bayer in the US is known largely for its pharmaceuticals, with scientists who developed modern Aspirin and Alka-Seltzer. But the deal would pivot the 117,000-employee company more towards its farm-targeting business in agriculture chemicals, crop supplies and compounds that kill bugs and weeds.

Monsanto is the world’s largest supplier of genetically modified seeds, which now dominate American farming but are still a major source of environmental protests in Europe and abroad. The 20,000-employee company also develops Roundup, the weed-killing herbicide.

This is a merger of two giants in the agricultural and chemicals sectors and could lead to some interesting new developments in the future.

Source: Bayer, Monsanto in $88b deal that could reshape the world’s food supply