Chemistry

Germany’s Bayer said Friday it would sell parts of its agrichemical business to rival BASF, kick-starting a competitor in the seeds market even as it clears the way for its mammoth takeover of US-based Monsanto.

Bayer is selling some of its Crop Science business to BASF to help clear the way for its pending $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co. Bayer announced Friday that it had signed an agreement to sell the units for 5.9 million euro, or about $7 billion.

"We are taking an active approach to address potential regulatory concerns, with the goal of facilitating a successful close of the Monsanto transaction,” Werner Baumann, Bayer chairman, said in a statement.

Swiss agriculture company Syngenta, which is in deal to be bought by China National Chemical Corp., known as ChemChina, announced Friday that it has entered into an agreement to sell global Sugar Beet seeds business to DLF Seeds. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

The transaction is subject to customary approval requirements and expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2017. DLF Seeds is a seed company dealing in forage and turf seeds, and other crops.

Hunstman Corp and Switzerland’s Clariant AG announced their merger on Monday; the deal would create a trans-Atlantic company valued at about $14 billion offering an array of chemicals such as polyurethanes, pigments, automotive fluids, additives and resins that are used across industries ranging from aerospace to agriculture to household cleaning.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, Clariant shareholders would own 52 percent of the combined company. Huntsman shareholders, including its eponymous founding family, would own the rest.

Shareholders in Swiss pesticide and seed giant Syngenta have accepted the company’s takeover by state-owned ChemChina, the companies said Friday, which would be the biggest overseas acquisition by a Chinese firm.
The proposed merger is part of a broader wave of consolidation in the agro-chemicals sector that has worried environmental activists and farmers.
At the closing date for the offer on May 4, shareholders holding around 80.7 percent of the company’s stock had accepted the US$43-billion takeover, according to a preliminary count. Subject to confirmation of the results, “the Minimum Acceptance Rate condition of 67 percent of issued Syngenta shares has been met”, they said in a statement.

US regulators have agreed to a Chinese conglomerate’s proposed $43 billion acquisition of Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta on condition it sells some businesses to satisfy anti-monopoly objections.

China National Chemical and Switzerland’s Syngenta have agreed to divest three types of pesticides in order to win U.S. Federal Trade Commission approval for their $43 billion merger, the largest ever overseas acquisition by a Chinese company. A U.S. national security panel cleared the deal in August 2016, despite concerns among some lawmakers and farmers about China’s influence in U.S. food production.

French drugmaker Sanofi and Swiss manufacturer Lonza, a supplier to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life-science industries, announced Monday that they have entered into a strategic partnership to establish a large-scale biologics production facility in Switzerland. The initial investment will be around 290 million Swiss francs (€270 million), to be split equally between each company.

Pending regulatory approvals, the facility, through a 50-50 joint venture, will be located in Visp, Switzerland, Sanofi and Lonza said in a joint statement. The initial phase of the facility will commence construction in 2017, it is expected to be fully operational by 2020.

Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta reported 2016 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $2.66 billion on sales of $12.79 billion.
Analysts polled by Reuters had on average expected EBITDA to fall 5.9 percent to $2.61 billion on sales down 4.2 percent to $12.85 billion. They had expected it to boost its dividend to 11.60 Swiss francs from 11.00

Chinese chemical giant ChemChina has extended the deadline of its offer to purchase the agrochemical group Syngenta Basel, until January 5. The previous deadline was to expire next Tuesday.
It is the fourth time that the Chinese group extends its tender offer (Opa): the giant state had already been extended to May its initial offer until July 18 and then to July until 13 September and until September 8th of November.