By Ann Graceford B ayer announced a sweetened $125 a share offer for Monsanto, the largest all-cash takeover bid on record, on July 14 in an effort to entice its reluctant management to give the German company full access to its books. “I am happy that the new offer made by Bayer did not go as far as $135-$140. However I don’t think it will be enough -- Monsanto management rejected the $122 offer as financially inadequate,” said Andrea Williams, Senior Fund Manager at Royal London Asset Management. There has been many concerns from investors that con- tinuing the attempted takeover of Monsanto might not be the best course of action for Bayer at this time.
Henderson Global Investors, a minority investor in Bayer has demanded a vote on the firm’s $64 billion-plus proposed takeover of Monsanto, which it said threatened the long-term strength of the German chemicals group. Global agrochemical firms have been weighing a string of big-ticket mergers with rivals in recent months to partly offset a sharp drop in commodities prices that has hit the incomes of some of their biggest agricultural customers. Other minority investors echoed Henderson’s caution over Bayer’s high-stakes pursuit of Monsanto and flagged fears the German firm could be tempted to bid even higher to secure its prize while rival buyers like BASF wait in the wings.
There has been many concerns from investors that continuing the attempted takeover of Monsanto might not be the best course of action for Bayer at this time.
42
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • AUGUST 2016
Made with FlippingBook Online document