DoJ Approves Bayer’s Acquisition of Monsanto

​Last week’s M&A news included the approval by the Department of Justice for Bayer’s $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto, which is set to become one of the largest deals to date in 2018. In other news, KKR acquired BMC Software, PayPal will acquire JetLore, Myriad Genetics announced the acquisition of Counsyl, and JAB Holdings further expanded their coffee empire by buying Pret A Manger.

• Big news last Tuesday as U.S. Department of Justice approved Bayer's $66 billion takeover of Monsanto, following 2-years of regulatory review. The agreement with antitrust regulators requires Bayer to sell $9 billion in farm assets to European BASF SE. Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto furthers its transformation from a plastics business into a life sciences company with balanced health and agriculture units. Says Bayer CEO Walter Baumann: "We want to help farmers across the world grow more nutritious food in a more sustainable way." The DoJ’s approval comes on the heels of European Union, Chinese, and Brazilian rulings in favor of the acquisition, and was the last major regulatory hurdle for the deal to climb since the May 2016 announcement.

 

• Also Last Tuesday, BMC Software, a Houston-based provider of multi-cloud management support systems, was purchased from Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital by KKR & Co., a leading global investment firm for $8.3 billion, according to Bloomberg. BMC specializes in helping businesses manage their cloud performance, security, and cost. KKR has a history of supporting technology firms through its TMT (technology, media and telecom) funding arm.

 

• In other M&A news, PayPal is set to acquire JetLore, a Silicon Valley startup that creates artificially intelligent retail systems, for an undisclosed price. JetLore leverages machine learning to help marketing teams deliver personalized retail experiences.

 

• Myriad Genetics, a developer of diagnostic tests to determine a patient’s risk of disease development and progression, announced the acquisition of Counsyl, a provider of genomics and DNA screening platforms, for $375 million.

 

• JAB Holdings announces the purchase of Pret A Manger, a upscale coffee and sandwich food chain, which operates 530 stores across the globe.