Monsanto has dropped its hostile $45 billion bid for Syngenta, abandoning a deal that could have led to the American agribusiness giant basing itself in Britain and changing its name in an attempt to refresh its public image.
In a sign of how frustrated it had become with its Swiss rival’s rebuttal, the world’s biggest seed producer said yesterday that although it still believed its offer would have created “tremendous value” it had decided to focus on building its core business.
It confirmed that it had raised its offer last week to nearly $47 billion, and thrown in a $3 billion break-up fee, but that Syngenta had considered this inadequate. The statement brings a curtain down on one of this year’s most controversial tussles.
Syngenta remained implacably hostile to the unsolicited deal, which would have created a company with about a third of the world market for crop seeds, since it surfaced several months ago. It argued that the offer not only undervalued it but was fraught with risk.
The revelation that Monsanto was considering moving its headquarters to Britain to reduce its American tax bill using a process called tax inversion, also prompted criticism from Congress.
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Shares in Syngenta fell nearly 12 per cent in trading on the New York stock exchange, while Monsanto rose by 7.6 per cent.