Once the takeover of Monsanto by the Leverkusen-based chemistry giant Bayer is finalised, there will only be three major players left on the field of agricultural chemistry. This has caused suspicion and caution from the cartel authority. Thus, to smoothen the transition Bayer has announced to sell parts of its agricultural chemistry business. BASF has since signed an agreement to acquire significant parts of Bayer’s seed and non-selective herbicide businesses for approximately €5.9 billion. “With this investment, we are seizing the opportunity to acquire highly attractive assets in key row crops and markets. It will be a strategic complement to BASF’s well-established and successful crop protection business as well as to our own activities in biotechnology,” said Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

More agricultural solutions and crop protection

The acquisition complements BASF’s crop protection business, strengthening the company’s herbicide portfolio, and marking its entry into the seed business with proprietary assets in key agricultural markets. “Building on the competent new team members and the enhanced portfolio, we will offer farmers a greater choice of solutions addressing their needs for high-quality seeds, chemical and biological crop protection,” says Saori Dubourg, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Agricultural Solutions segment. The assets to be acquired include Bayer’s global glufosinate-ammonium non-selective herbicide business, as well as its seed businesses for key row crops in select markets: canola hybrids in North America, oilseed rape mainly in European markets, cotton in the Americas and Europe as well as soybean in the Americas. The transaction also includes Bayer’s trait research and breeding capabilities for these crops and the LibertyLink^® trait and trademark.

Almost 2,000 employees transfer from Bayer to BASF

For the full year 2016, sales of the business to be purchased from Bayer amounted to around €1.3 billion and EBITDA to around €385 million. The transaction is subject to the closing of Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto and approval by relevant authorities and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018. The BASF group employs approximately 114,000 people worldwide, with a portfolio that is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. Following the new acquisition, more than 1,800 commercial, R&D, breeding, and production personnel shall transfer from Bayer to BASF. These employees are primarily located in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Canada and Belgium. Furthermore, BASF will acquire the manufacturing sites for glufosinate-ammonium production and formulation in Germany, the United States, and Canada, seed breeding facilities in the Americas and Europe as well as trait research facilities in the United States and Europe.

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