Monsanto, Bayer set to announce tie-up

The two giants are expected to announce a deal valuing Monsanto at $US65bn, as early as Wednesday.

Monsanto’s board in a meeting late on Tuesday agreed in principle to Bayer’s latest bid. Picture: Josh Smith.

Germany’s Bayer AG and Monsanto are expected to announce a tie-up as early as Wednesday that would value the US seed-maker at close to $US130 a share, or more than $US65 billion in total, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bayer’s supervisory board is set to meet on Wednesday afternoon, where it is expected to rubber stamp the company’s latest takeover offer, these people said.

Monsanto’s board in a meeting late on Tuesday agreed in principle to Bayer’s latest bid, which is above its recent offer last week of $US127.50 a share, according to one of the people familiar with the discussions.

Bayer also “considerably” upped its break-fee from a previous figure of $US1.5 billion, another person familiar with the deal said.

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