 |
 |
|
|
|
National & World Ag News Headlines |
 |
Novozymes Concerned About Bayer-Monsanto Deal
USAgNet - 09/30/2016
Novozymes has hit a rough patch lately, a result of low prices for oil and grain crops. Now, the company is keeping a close eye on Bayer's offer for Monsanto and trying to decide what that could mean for its business.
According to Reuters, Chief Executive Peder Holk Nielsen said in an interview that a merged Bayer-Monsanto could extend the market for the company's smart microbial crop-boosting products, known as inoculants, but added the union also brings
uncertainties.
"Of course, in the short-term we can all worry about the distraction that a $66 billion acquisition can bring and it is one of the things we have in our risk matrix," he told Reuters. "But we think the results we have created together with Monsanto are quite
significant and if the deal is concluded I think it would make a lot of sense to bring that into the new company."
Nielsen has not yet held any discussions with Bayer about the future of its strategic tie-up with Monsanto, the BioAg Alliance, but said he expected to do so before the takeover is completed. Novozymes is relying on the alliance, which covers the sale of
inoculants, to drive growth and restore sales.
The agreed purchase of U.S. seeds company Monsanto by Germany's Bayer is the signature deal in a wave of agribusiness takeovers in recent years. Monsanto shares are still trading well below Bayer's offer price, however, reflecting worries that the merger
could stall on antitrust issues.
The takeover comes at a challenging time for Novozymes, which was spun off from drugmaker Novo Nordisk in 2000.
Nielsen disappointed investors last month by lowering the forecast for sales growth this year to only 2-4 percent and warning it would take time to return to more typical growth levels of 6-7 percent. Novozymes had been doing well until recently by selling
enzymes that replace chemicals in detergents and also help in the production of bioethanol and animal feed.
|
 |
|
 |
|
Copyright © 2024 - Farms.com. All Rights Reserved. |
 |
|
