On Monday 30 April, the European Commission gave its conditional approval to the acquisition of a number of assets of Bayer Crop Science by BASF.
This decision comes in the framework of the commitments made by Bayer following the Commission's conditional greenlight in principle for its takeover of Monsanto on 21 March (see EUROPE 11986). To respond to the Commission's competition and innovation concerns, Bayer proposed a number of measures, such as selling some of its assets to BASF.
These assets include all of Bayer's activities in the field of vegetable seeds, field crop seeds and traits, various assets in the field of non-selective herbicides and seed treatment against nematode worms, as well as its digital agriculture assets and products.
The Commission originally voiced concerns regarding competition in the field of non-selective herbicides and seed treatment against nematode worms. To respond to these concerns, BASF undertook to divest a line of research into non-selective herbicides and one of its products still in development for the treatment of seeds against nematode worms.
The institution has announced that it is satisfied with these corrective measures and has therefore approved the transaction. The Commission's examination to determine whether BASF may constitute a serious competitor to the merged Bayer/Monsanto entity is ongoing, with a view to a definitive decision. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)