Bayer-Monsanto Deal Faces Deeper Scrutiny in Europe
“We need to ensure effective competition so that farmers can have access to innovative
products, better quality and also purchase products at competitive prices.”
Ms. Vestager said that many of the comments expressed concern about potential negative effects of Monsanto
and Bayer products, including risks to human health, food safety and consumer protection.
LONDON — European antitrust regulators opened an in-depth investigation on Tuesday into Bayer’s $56 billion deal for Monsanto, a transaction
that would create the world’s largest integrated pesticides and seeds company.
Bayer, a German chemicals multinational, announced last year
that it planned to buy Monsanto, its American agribusiness rival, but it was only this past June that it sought approval from the European authorities.
“Seeds and pesticide products are essential for farmers
and ultimately consumers,” Margrethe Vestager, the commissioner in charge of European competition policy, said on Tuesday in a news release.