The ongoing negotiations for the merger between Bayer AG and Monsanto have received a boost as the US Department of Justice has appeared to approve the alliance.
There had been some concern in both Europe and the US as to whether a newly formed agricultural giant could create a monopoly.
The merger was first proposed by Bayer back in 2016 but the regulatory issues have been complex. Both companies have been required to sell off parts of their businesses to avoid the creation of a monopoly, but it now seems likely the much-discussed merger will be going ahead.
This news comes as agricultural commodity prices appear to be on the rise again after a half-decade of prices drops owing to weather conditions that created an abundance of crops. But with the ongoing growth of the global population – which has increased from 6 billion to 7.467 billion since 2000 – this situation could not be expected to continue.