Bayer-Monsanto Merger Encompasses $3.25 Billion of Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Bayer AG's (Leverkusen, Germany) $66 billion bid for Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) (St. Louis, Missouri) encompasses $3.25 billion of projects being tracked by Industrial Info across the Chemical Processing, Food & Beverage and Pharmaceutical sectors.

Bayer clinched the $66 billion bid for Monsanto after months of negotiation. The move will dramatically expand Bayer's footprint in the agricultural sector, particularly in the Seeds and Crop Traits sectors, for which Monsanto is a leading global company. Bayer already has quite a large footprint in the Crop Protection segment, which includes the production of pesticides and herbicides.

The merger is expected to close by the end of 2017, as several antitrust hurdles must be cleared. According to Argus Research, the deal would make Bayer the world's largest supplier of seeds and farm chemicals. This is the second agriculturally related tie-up this week, after Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (NYSE:POT) (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Agrium Incorporated (NYSE:AGU) (Calgary, Alberta) recently announced a merger that will create the world's largest crop nutrient company. For more information, see September 13, 2016, article - Merger of PotashCorp and Agrium Includes $2.8 Billion in Active Projects.

As part of the agreement, the merged agricultural business will have its Seeds headquarters in St. Louis, where Monsanto is currently based, while Crop Protection headquarters will be in Monheim, Germany.

In addition to a thriving agricultural sector business, Bayer inherits 29 active projects that are planned or under way by Monsanto with a combined total investment value of $1.37 billion. The largest of these is the proposed herbicide plant expansion at the company's existing facility in Luling, Louisiana, to increase the production of dicamba used in the production of the company's Roundup herbicides. The $975 million project, if it continues following the merger announcement, is planned to kick off in the summer of 2017 and take about two years to complete.

Under way is a $140 million grassroot cotton seed processing plant in Lubbock, Texas. The facility will serve as the U.S. hub for all of Monsanto's commercial cotton seed operations and is expected to be completed in early 2017.

Industrial Info is tracking 57 Bayer projects across the world with a combined total investment value $1.88 billion, including agricultural chemical projects in the U.S. One of Bayer's projects under construction is the $50 million expansion of its herbicides plant in Muskegon, Michigan. The project began in mid-2015 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. A Phase II expansion of the project has been under consideration, but is planned for several years out. Projects such as this one may now be off the table as Bayer focuses on combining synergies with Monsanto, which it estimates will produce $1.5 billion of benefits from sales and savings within three years of the deal's close.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.