US Department of Justice approves the merger of Bayer and Monsanto

The German pharmaceutical company Bayer received the green light on Tuesday, by the US antitrust regulator, to merge with the giant agrochemical Monsanto.

The US Department of Justice approved the measure with the condition that the pharmaceutical company sell about 9,000 million dollars in assets; in order to put an end to the biggest obstacle to the merger that was a purchase agreement for 62.5 billion dollars.

"Receiving the approval of the Department of Justice brings us closer to our goal of creating a leading company in agriculture," says Bayer CEO Werner Baumann, according to the multinational's Twitter account. He adds that "we want to help farmers around the world to grow more nutritious food in a more sustainable way".

In a press release, Bayer explains that Monsanto's integration into the company "can take place as soon as the divestments have been made" to the German giant BASF, another of the multinationals that controls the global seed and pesticide market.

In mid-March, the European Union also approved this merger. Now Bayer seeks approval in regulations such as Canada and Mexico.