Tag Archives: Bayer

Bayer Monsanto broccoli patent revoked

The European Patent Office (EPO) has revoked a patent held by Bayer for traditionally-bred easy-to-harvest broccoli.

The patent was originally awarded to Monsanto in 2013 for broccoli plants with an “extend head” which made them easier to harvest. However the following year an opposition to the patent was filed by a group of organisations.

The cancellation of the patent follows new rules introduced last year by the EPO which stated that patents can no longer be granted on plants or animals derived via conventional breeding techniques such as crossing and selection.

The move was welcomed by campaign group No Patents on Seeds, which had protested about the original patent with a giant head of broccoli and a 75,000 signature petition. “This is an important success for the broad coalition of civil society organisations against patents on plants and animals,” said the group’s Christoph Then. “Without our activities, the EPO rules would not have been changed and the patent would still be valid. The giant corporations, such as Bayer, Syngenta and BASF, have failed in their attempt to completely monopolise conventional breeding through using patents.” However, the group added that issues remain, following the rejection of opposition to patent for barley varieties held by Carlsberg and Heineken.

Jason Rutt, a patent attorney at law firm Boult Wade Tennant, added, “There are a plethora of other seed cases maturing at the EPO and it will be fascinating to see how this decision impacts them.” The post Bayer Monsanto broccoli patent revoked appeared first on Hort News.

Bayer preparing for thousands of Roundup lawsuits

Following the successful lawsuit against Monsanto in California in August in which a jury ruled that a former groundskeeper’s cancer was caused by Roundup, and that the company knowingly withheld information about the carcinogenic properties of glyphosate, industry analysts are warning that Bayer is now bracing itself for thousands of future claims.

German-based acquired Monsanto earlier this year for $63 billion and according to Reuters, the company faces years of legal activity with some 8,000 lawsuits currently being brought against Monsanto, much higher than the 5,200 cases previously disclosed by Bayer in June.

“The number of plaintiffs in both state and federal litigation is approximately 8,000 as of end-July. These numbers may rise or fall over time but our view is that the number is not indicative of the merits of the plaintiffs’ cases,” Bayer’s chief executive Werner Baumann admitted to analysts in a conference call.

The lawsuits are also pulling in food manufacturers, with General Mills having to remove a claim about the use of ‘100% natural whole grain oats’ in its Nature Valley brand cereal bars.

Photo Caption: Bayer could face years of legal action in the United States after its acquisition of Roundup manufacturer Monsanto

Photo Credit: Flickr

The post Bayer preparing for thousands of Roundup lawsuits appeared first on Hort News on 30 August 2018.

BASF latest company to be linked to Monsanto

Business and agricultural publications report that Monsanto may be investigating the purchase of BASF’s agricultural business after rejecting Bayer’s $62 billion takeover bid earlier this year.

At the same time, both Bayer and Monsanto have confirmed that the former has submitted a revised, and higher, bid for its American rival. In a press release issued on 14 July Bayer said it had increased its takeover bid to $125 per share (the previous bid was $122 per share) in an offer submitted to Monsanto on 9th July.

Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said, “We are convinced that this transaction is the best opportunity available to provide Monsanto shareholders with highly attractive, immediate and certain value. Bayer is fully committed to pursuing this transaction.”

However, in the financial markets, a Monsanto acquisition of part of BASF was seen as easier to pull off. “Looking at the agricultural chemicals and seeds landscape, Monsanto-BASF is the most logical combination,” said Christian Faitz, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux.

Other consolidation in the sector includes the announced merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont and ChemChina’s ongoing acquisition of Syngenta.

Photo Caption: BASF’s US headquarters

Photo Credit: BASF

The post BASF latest company to be linked to Monsanto appeared first on Hort News on 15 July 2016.

Bayer offers US$62 billion for Monsanto

German-based chemicals giant Bayer AG has reportedly offered US$122 in cash per share in its bid to acquire Monsanto, valuing the US agchem company at US$62 billion. This represents a 35 per cent premium over the company’s share price on the day before the offer was made.

Bayer, which admitted its interest in Monsanto last week, says the two companies would be beneficial, in particularly combining its own strength in crop protection and plant health with Monsanto’s breeding and seed portfolio. This is an area Bayer has been exploring in recent years; including its acquisition of Dutch seed company Nunhems.

James Blome, CEO of Bayer Crop Science, has reportedly said that said that if the deal is approved the headquarters for joint crop science efforts would be in St. Louis in the Unites States.

Bayer AG CEO Werner Baumann said on Monday, “We have long respected Monsanto’s business and share their vision to create an integrated business that we believe is capable of generating substantial value for both companies’ shareholders. Together we would draw on the collective expertise of both companies to build a leading agriculture player with exceptional innovation capabilities to the benefit of farmers, consumers, our employees and the communities in which we operate.”

The post Bayer offers US$62 billion for Monsanto appeared first on Hort News on Tuesday 24 Mya 2016.

Is Bayer lining up to buy Monsanto?

According to the news agency Bloomberg, multinational chemical company Bayer AG may be preparing to purchase Monsanto.

Reports suggest that the German-based business has already held internal discussions and has talked to advisors about the possible deal which, if successful, would create the world’s largest agrochemical and seed company.

With a valuation of around €79 billion, Bayer is almost twice as big as Monsanto which has an estimated market value of €43 billion. However, financial analysts have suggested that Bayer would need to sell off certain assets to obtain sufficient funds for a deal and also point out that such a large merger would create ant-trust and competition issues around the world. ‘Competition regulators are already investigating the $130 billion merger between Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co., while national security officials in the U.S. weigh China National Chemical Corp.’s bid to acquire Syngenta AG of Switzerland for $43 billion,’ says Bloomberg.

In a conference call with analysts on 26 April, Liam Condon, head of crop sciences at Bayer, said, “We’ve always said that we want to build out further our seeds business. We’ve had some acquisitions, minor or smaller acquisitions that we’ve made, and we continue to look at all options that create value for Bayer.”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The post Is Bayer lining up to buy Monsanto? appeared first on Hort News on Wednesday 18 May 2016.

Bayer Crop Science sales show small growth

International chemicals giant Bayer has reported growth in all sections of its business in its first quarter results, including modest growth in its Crop Science division.

In a statement the company said, ‘Bayer got off to a successful start in the new fiscal year. In the first quarter of 2016, the Bayer Group improved sales by 3.2% to €11.9 billion and EBITDA before special items by 15.7% to €3.4 billion. All segments improved their operating performance. Crop Science outperformed the prior-year quarter despite a weak market environment.’

First-quarter sales of the agricultural business (Crop Science) moved ahead by 1.2% to €3,023 million. “We slightly expanded business at Crop Protection/Seeds despite an ongoing weak market environment,” explained CEO Dr. Marijn Dekkers. In regional terms, the Crop Science business developed positively in North America in particular whereas sales in Europe were level year on year.

The seed growth business grew by 5.4% and fungicides grew by 2.9%. However, sales of insecticides and herbicides declined by 12.2% and minus 3.8% respectively. Sales of Seeds grew by a substantial 11.9%.

The post Bayer Crop Science sales show small growth appeared first on Hort News.