BASF in talks to acquire vegetable seeds business from Bayer

BASF is in talks to acquire Bayer’s entire vegetable seeds business, operating under the global trademark Nunhems, according to the company. Bayer intends to divest this business in the context of its planned acquisition of Monsanto.

While the company says that definitive agreements have not been concluded, with this transaction, BASF wants to enhance its future seed platform and the market position of its Agricultural Solutions business. On October 13, 2017, BASF signed an agreement to acquire significant parts of Bayer’s seed and non-selective herbicide businesses. The all-cash purchase price is €5.9 billion, subject to certain adjustments at closing. The assets to be acquired include Bayer’s global glufosinate-ammonium non-selective herbicide business as well as its seed businesses for key row crops in select markets: canola hybrids in North America under the InVigor brand using the LibertyLink trait technology, oilseed rape mainly in European markets, cotton in the Americas and Europe as well as soybean in the Americas.

The transaction also includes Bayer’s trait research and breeding capabilities for these crops and the LibertyLink trait and trademark. This acquisition complements BASF’s crop protection business and marks its entry into the seed business with proprietary assets in key agricultural markets.