Monsanto gets unsolicited takeover offer from Germany's Bayer

Hong Kong

MONSANTO Co, the world's largest seed maker with a market value of US$42 billion, said that it received an unsolicited takeover approach from Germany's Bayer AG, the latest step in the consolidation of the global seed and crop chemical industry.

The proposal was non-binding, St Louis-based Monsanto said in a statement on Thursday, without giving financial details. Monsanto's board of directors is reviewing the proposal in consultation with its advisers, and there is no assurance that any deal will be entered into, it said.