Dive Brief:
- Monsanto Co. announced that to acquire Syngenta AG, it would be willing to divest Syngenta's seed business to avoid issues with antitrust regulators.
- Syngenta stands firm with its previous response, that the proposal undervalues Syngenta's propects and pipeline.
- Monsanto is primarily interested in Syngenta's pesticides business.
Dive Insight:
Monsanto already corners about 33% of the global seed market, much of which would overlap with Syngenta's seed business. Monsanto sees this divestiture as a worthy sacrifice to enjoy other synergies and add Syngenta's pesticides to the Monsanto portfolio.
Monsanto also announced that it has expanded its partnership with Scotts Miracle-Gro, which sells consumer versions of Monsanto's main herbicide, Roundup. Scotts can now "extend its sales of Monsanto’s Roundup brand into new lawn and garden categories and new regions," according to The Wall Street Journal.