http://www.reuters.com/article/us-monsanto-m-a-bayer-deal-idUSKCN11K128
German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer has won over U.S. seeds firm Monsanto with an improved takeover offer of $66 billion including debt, ending months of wrangling after increasing its bid for a third time. The $128 a share deal announced on Wednesday, up from Bayer's previous offer of $127.50 a share, is the biggest of the year so far and the largest cash bid on record.
The transaction will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in a fast-consolidating farm supplies industry. However, competition authorities are likely to scrutinize the tie-up closely, and some of Bayer's own shareholders have been critical of a takeover plan which they say is too expensive and risks neglecting the company's pharmaceutical business.
"Bayer's competitors are merging, so not doing this deal would mean having a competitive disadvantage," said Markus Manns, a fund manager at Union Investment, one of Bayer's top 12 investors, according to ThomsonReuters data.
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Thursday September 15 2016, @03:59PM
When I worked at Anheuser-Busch we thought that as well. We're AB! We're profitable! We make money hand over fist! We're not getting bought by some foreign company that's barely even the same size as we are! That's crazy!
Six months later and we were lined up to welcome our new Brazilian banker overlords from Belgium. So yea, even a whale can get bought out if a another whale can get the financing lined up.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @04:27PM
That's the beauty of a leveraged buyout. The company's own value is the collateral for the loan to purchase it.