BASF to acquire Bayer business lines

BASF will become the new owner of Bayer's seed and non-selective herbicide departments

The assets to be acquired include Bayer’s global glufosinate-ammonium non-selective herbicide arm, commercialised under the Liberty^®, Basta^®, and Finale^® brands, together with seed businesses in select markets: canola hybrids in North America under the InVigor^® brand using the LibertyLink^® trait technology, canola seed 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.

Bayer intends to divest these assets in the context of its planned acquisition of Monsanto. The all-cash purchase price is €5.9 billion ($6.96 billion), subject to certain adjustments at closing.

For the full year 2016, sales of the business to be purchased from Bayer amounted to around €1.3 billion ($1.53 billion) and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and appreciation to around €385 million ($454 million). The transaction is subject to the closing of Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto and approval by relevant authorities. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

“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 Dr. Kurt Bock, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. “The acquisition will further enhance our agricultural solutions offer, which is a core pillar of BASF’s portfolio.”

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,” explained Saori Dubourg, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE who is responsible for the Agricultural Solutions segment.

“Moreover, this transaction will create new opportunities for future growth and strengthen our global innovation potential.”

More than 1,800 commercial, R&D, breeding, and production personnel shall transfer from Bayer to BASF. These employees are primarily located in the US, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and Belgium. Furthermore, BASF will acquire the manufacturing sites for glufosinate-ammonium production and formulation in Germany, the US, and Canada, seed breeding facilities in the Americas and Europe, as well as trait research facilities in the US and Europe.

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