Monsanto Co. rejected the latest $125-a-share offer from rival Bayer AG in a statement released by Monsanto early Tuesday declaring that Monsanto's board of directors unanimously viewed the latest offer as inadequate.
Bayer had announced last Thursday that it had increased its offer to Monsanto from $122 a share to the $125-a-share offer. Bayer had noted that the two companies had been in private talks for several weeks and the higher offer had been on the table for Monsanto executives to consider.
Monsanto countered that Bayer's new proposal remained "financially inadequate and insufficient to ensure deal certainty." Monsanto added that the company "remains open to continued and constructive conversations with Bayer and other parties to assess whether a transaction that the Board believes is in the best interest of Monsanto shareowners can be realized. There is no assurance that any transaction will be entered into or consummated, or on what terms."
Combined, Monsanto and Bayer would account for $67 billion in annual sales and create the world's largest seed and crop-chemical company. Monsanto would bring more strength in seed traits and sales while Bayer would bring its portfolio of seed treatments and chemicals.
While Monsanto rejected the offer, Dow Jones also reported Tuesday that the European investment firm Henderson, a major Bayer shareholder, called for a Bayer shareholder vote on the sale because Henderson doesn't believe it is a good long-term deal, Dow Jones reported.
The back-and-forth between the two seed-and-chemical companies continues as the industry remains in a state of mergers. Rivals Dow Chemical and DuPont are in the process of merging and waiting approval from antitrust regulators while China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina) plans to buy Swiss-based Syngenta in a deal that requires approval from a U.S. committee that reviews security concerns over foreign transactions.