Bayer open to buying 26% stake in Monsanto India

MUMBAI: German chemicals conglomerate Bayer made an open offer to buy 26% in Monsanto India as part of a global deal. Bayer is acquiring the US based seed major Monsanto for $66 billion.

The open offer will be for acquisition of up to 44,88,315 fully paid-up equity shares from the public shareholders of Monsanto India. This represents 26% of the fully diluted voting equity share capital of the company. The offer price has been set at Rs. 2,481.60 per share, which is at a 3.43% discount to the company’s closing price on Tuesday.

The managers of the open offer said that since this offer is being made as a result of indirect acquisition of shares, the offer price shall be revised in accordance with certain SEBI regulations. It said the revised price will be disclosed in a detailed public statement.

On September 14, 2016 Bayer announced its merger plan with Monsanto and KWA Investment Company, which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the German acquirer. It said it would acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of common stock, at $0.01 per share, while Monsanto’s shareholders would receive $128 per Monsanto share.