BERLIN, June 4 (Xinhua) -- German chemical producer Bayer AG told press on Monday that Monsanto will cease to be an independent corporate brand after the completion of the takeover.
Speaking during a telephone conference, Bayer chief executive officer Werner Baumann confirmed that "Monsanto will no longer be a company name." The products of the U.S. agrochemical company will instead become fully-integrated into Bayer's own portfolio from a marketing perspective.
Baumann noted that Monsanto had already considered changing its name in the past, adding that the Monsanto team was "proud of products" and "not fixated" on its given brand.
Critics of the Bayer-Monsanto merger have warned that it could tarnish the former's reputation given that Monsanto is mainly known in Europe as the producer of the controversial genetically-modified crops and the potentially-carcinogenic pesticide "glyphosate".
Nevertheless, Bayer revealed on Monday that it planned to formally conclude the acquisition worth 63 billion U.S. dollars of Monsanto as soon as June 7. All necessary regulatory approvals had now been obtained towards this end, allowing the Leverkusen-based firm to finalise its largest ever foreign takeover in corporate history.
In order to meet regulatory requirements, Bayer has agreed to sell business units with combined revenue of 2.2 billion euros to German rival BASF for 7.6 billion euros. The U.S. Department of Justice accepted this step as being sufficient to prevent Bayer-Monsanto from becoming too dominant in any of the markets of the merged entity.
The European Union (EU) Commission had previously decided to recognise BASF as the appropriate buyer for all of Bayer's divested units. Under U.S. antitrust regulations, the formal integration of Monsanto into the corporate structure of Bayer could only commence once the Bayer-BASF deal was complete.
Having thus cleared several competition law hurdles by divesting business units, Baumann told press that Bayer could now focus on achieving the synergy effects anticipated by from the merger.
The CEO described the takeover as a "strategic milestone" but warned that its success would ultimately hinge on "developing a joint corporate culture."
Baumann said that he aimed to "double" Bayer's business in the agriculture sector as a result of the corporate fusion. Bayer is set to become the world's largest producer of seeds, pesticides and herbicides following the acquisition of Monsanto with combined gross revenue of 23 billion euros recorded from agriculture-related business alone.
"Innovation is important to ensure the sustainable production of healthier, safe and affordable food products for a growing population. The merger (of Bayer and Monsanto) will enable to us to deliver more innovations faster and offer agricultural producers across the world tailored solutions", a statement by Liam Condon, the head of Bayer's Crop Science, division published on Monday read.
