• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
LeadershipThe Future of

The Justice Department Is Going to Let Bayer Buy Monsanto. Here’s Why It Matters

By
Hallie Detrick
Hallie Detrick
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Hallie Detrick
Hallie Detrick
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 10, 2018, 8:43 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The U.S. Justice Department has just given Bayer permission to buy Monsanto in a $62.5 billion deal.

The approval (with some conditions) was the last big hurdle for the deal, which has been in the works since May 2016. DOJ approval follows European Union approval in March and a “productive” meeting between Bayer and President Trump in January. It’s the largest all-cash buy-out on record and the largest deal ever by a German company.

But not everyone is over the moon about the tie up that will let one company control more than a quarter of the world’s seeds and pesticides.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. What’s the Deal?

In May 2016, Bayer made an unsolicited offer to buy Monsanto at $122 a share, or about $66 billion. (The deal is now valued at $62.5 billion.) Bayer is a German drug and chemical maker; Monsanto is an agricultural juggernaut based in St. Louis, Mo. Together, they represent the pinnacle of data-driven industrial agriculture, which the companies say will be necessary to feed a planet that hosts 10 billion people. Werner Baumann, the CEO of Bayer, and Hugh Grant, Chairman and CEO of Monsanto, emphasized their companies’ ability to invest more in innovation once joined, pledging to spend $16 billion on research and development worldwide over six years. However, Business Insider points out that this is only a total of $500 million more than the companies are spending on R&D right now.

2. What Did DOJ Approve?

With such a big tie-up inevitably comes anti-trust concerns. Although Bayer and Monsanto are ostensibly function in different sectors, there is some crossover between their products. To satisfy the DOJ, Bayer will sell off some of its assets to German competitor BASF before the merger. These include the company’s soybean and cottonseed businesses as well as its glufosinate weedkiller, which is a direct competitor to Roundup, a central element of Monsanto’s business.

3. Why Are Farmers So Worried?

For all Baumann and Grant’s bluster about innovation and feeding the world, many farmers worry that this merger is motivated by profit alone—which will be much easier to make after the tie-up. Mark Connelly, an agriculture analyst, told Business Insider, “These companies want to make more money, they want to raise prices. No company in this industry needs these deals in order to innovate.” Moreover, research from the Farmers Business Network shows a positive correlation between a company’s market share and its seed price. Market share is also an indicator of yield, but the gains taper off quickly. If this pattern holds, farmers could be paying a whole lot more money for not much more yield.

4. What Will It Mean for Consumers?

If farmers’ fears come to fruition, consumers could see prices go up not only on agricultural products, but also on the umpteen products that hide corn and soybean inputs such as gas. The Bayer-Monsanto deal is big enough on its own to create cause for concern. It’s even more worrying in the wake of the ChemChina-Syngenta takeover and Dow Chemical’s merger with DuPont.

About the Author
By Hallie Detrick
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

How ‘Ozempic face’ is pushing Gen X, already the biggest Botox and filler consumers, to the facelift table a decade early
HealthGen X
How ‘Ozempic face’ is pushing Gen X, already the biggest Botox and filler consumers, to the facelift table a decade early
By Mia OsmonbekovJune 24, 2026
58 minutes ago
Why Zohran Mamdani’s big night as the Democratic party’s new kingmaker matters for every Fortune 500 CEO in every city and state
PoliticsPolitics
Why Zohran Mamdani’s big night as the Democratic party’s new kingmaker matters for every Fortune 500 CEO in every city and state
By Catherina GioinoJune 24, 2026
58 minutes ago
Warren leans in to talk to Scott
PoliticsHousing
Congress’s landmark housing bill could backfire on millions of renters
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
CEO of $8 billion Flexport blasts remote work as ‘white-collar fraud’ and a ‘total fantasy’ for highly paid employees
C-Suiteremote work
CEO of $8 billion Flexport blasts remote work as ‘white-collar fraud’ and a ‘total fantasy’ for highly paid employees
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 24, 2026
3 hours ago
How Home Depot is rebuilding retailing with AI
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
How Home Depot is rebuilding retailing with AI
By John KellJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago
bob
AIbooks
Robert Wright sees an ‘earthquake’ coming from AI that goes far beyond jobs: ‘cultural, political, personal, family, psychological’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
15 hours ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America 'doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire'
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America 'doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire'
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
8 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.