Agro-giant Monsanto declined a $62 billion acquisition offer from German chemical superpower Bayer as “incomplete and financially inadequate” on May 24.
Bayer’s offer of $122 per share could have been seen as generous, given Monsanto’s stocks trade at about $109, according to marketwatch.com. Moreover, Monsanto’s stocks have soared by some 20 percent in the last 2 weeks, after news of Bayer’s bid emerged. Before that, it traded at around $90.
That, however, didn’t faze Monsanto’s Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant.
“[T]he current proposal significantly undervalues our company,” he said in a May 24 statement. He also cited lacking “reassurances” for potential financing and regulatory risks.
Yet, the company “is open to continued and constructive conversations to assess whether a transaction in the best interest of Monsanto shareowners can be achieved,” the statement reads.
Monsanto also stated that its Board of Directors “has not set a timeline for further discussions.”
