US Justice Department Approves Bayer & Monsanto Merger

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The two multinationals that teamed up during the Vietnam War to poison millions of people with Agent Orange, are about to become one.

The US Department of Justice has agreed a settlement approving the merger of Monsanto and Bayer which has been dubbed a ‘marriage made in hell’

German big pharma giant Bayer AG has agreed to the U.S. government’s demand that it sell $9 billion in agriculture assets as condition for acquiring Monsanto Co., the notorious U.S. seed and weed-killer maker. The assets will be sold to BASF, a German chemical company.

The $66 billion deal, already approved by the EU and will create the world’s biggest pesticides and seeds monopoly.

RT reports: The merger as initially proposed would have harmed consumers and farmers by eliminating competition, the DOJ said. However, the Trump administration is satisfied with the terms of the settlement announced Tuesday.

“America’s farm system is of critical importance to our economy, to our food system, and to our way of life,” said Makan Delrahim, head of the DOJ’s antitrust division. “American farmers and consumers rely on head-to-head competition between Bayer and Monsanto.”

Last October, Bayer agreed to sell its Liberty herbicide brand, cotton and soybean seeds, and other seed capabilities to BASF SE, another German chemical corporation. That deal was worth €5.9 billion. Another sale to BASF was announced in April, with Bayer divesting of herbicides, wheat hybrids research and digital farming business that had combined sales amounting to €2.2 billion in 2017, according to Bloomberg.

EU regulators approved the merger in March.

Once combined, Bayer-Monsanto will be the world’s biggest agrochemical corporation, surpassing DowDuPont Inc. and China National, which acquired Syngenta AG last year.

Monsanto is the world’s leading producer of genetically modified (GMO) seeds, and has faced widespread criticism and protests over the effects its products have had on the environment and biodiversity. Roundup, Monsanto’s most popular herbicide, has been blamed for the collapse in the Monarch butterfly population as well as the “colony collapse disorder” decimating the honeybees in Europe and North America.

The company has also challenged scientific studies pointing to glyphosate, the neo-nicotinoid used in the Roundup family of herbicides, being a carcinogen.

Announcing the merger in 2016, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said there was an opportunity for both companies to “get beyond this image and reputation thing” by rebranding Monsanto.

Niamh Harris
About Niamh Harris 14895 Articles
I am an alternative health practitioner interested in helping others reach their maximum potential.