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BASF closes acquisition of businesses and assets from Bayer

The acquisition of Bayer assets by BASF was one of the final steps before Monsanto could be fully integrated into Bayer, following Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto months ago. 

The transaction marks BASF’s entry into seeds, non-selective herbicides and nematicide seed treatments. New Bayer assets will complement current BASF crop protection, biotech and digital activities. In addition, about 4,500 employees join the Agricultural Solutions team at BASF through the acquisition.

BASF signed agreements in October 2017 and April 2018 to acquire the businesses and assets Bayer offered to divest in the context of its acquisition of Monsanto, for an all-cash purchase price of €7.6 billion, subject to certain adjustments at closing. The agreements include Bayer’s global glufosinate-ammonium business; seeds businesses including traits, research and breeding capabilities, and trademarks for key row crops in select markets; the vegetable seeds business; the R&D platform for hybrid wheat; a range of seed treatment products; certain glyphosate-based herbicides in Europe, used predominantly for industrial applications; the complete digital farming platform xarvioTM; as well as certain non-selective herbicide and nematicide research projects. These transactions are now completed, except for the vegetable seeds business for which closing is expected in mid-August 2018.

Customers benefit from the acquisition as they will have access to even more tools to increase their yields, crop quality and profitability, according to BASF’s statement on the acquisition.

To reflect the expanded scope of its agriculture business, BASF has renamed the division from Crop Protection to Agricultural Solutions. In addition, the division has established a new global business unit for seeds and traits.