China’s commerce ministry granted conditional approval to Bayer for its planned acquisition of the world’s leading seed company, Monsanto, on Tuesday, Reuters reports. The decision marks another milestone for the German drug and agrochemicals company as it seeks approval from regulators across the globe.
The Chinese government will require Bayer to spin off several businesses as part of the deal, including its vegetable seeds, corn, soybean, cotton and herbicides businesses, according to a statement from the ministry.
Bayer has already agreed some of its seed and herbicide assets to BASF for $7.3 billion to address EU regulators’ concerns, and is also discussing a deal for its vegetable seeds business with BASF.
Brazilian regulators have already given their approval for the $62.5 billion deal, while EU regulators are reported to be close to also giving the go-ahead. According to Bayer, discussions with the US are not as advanced, but the company says it is confident that it will make progress soon. There have been complications in Russia, however, with Bayer set to go to court to “safeguard its rights” in the review procedure.
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