Bayer AG said on Tuesday that its acquisition of Monsanto was making progress and that the deal was likely to be closed early next year.

Bayer has filed an application with the European Commission on Monday to extend the review deadline by 10 days, until January 22, 2018, with an aim to facilitate an appropriate evaluation given the size of the transaction.

“In view of this, an anticipated closing of the deal in early 2018 is now more likely than by the end of 2017,” said Liam Condon, Bayer management board member and President of the Crop Sciences Division.

The European Commission is currently probing the $66-billion Bayer-Monsanto deal.

Condon was speaking at the Future of Farming dialog 2017 organised by Bayer Crop Science at its headquarters in Monheim, Germany, where the agrochemical and seed maker shared its investment plans and product pipeline for the next few years.

The proposed acquisition of Monsanto presents a huge opportunity to positively shape the future of farming, Condon said.

The new entity would focus on innovation and develop customised agriculture solutions with a focus on small holder farmers, while being committed to ensure sustainability.

Bayer, which announced the buyout of Monsanto in a $66-billion deal in September last year, has submitted applications for clearance to about 30 relevant regulatory authorities worldwide and has received approvals from over a third of them.

Few overlaps

Responding to query on Bayer divesting part of its business, where Monsanto also has a presence, Condon said there were very few areas of overlap.

“The overlap is in the area of seeds, traits and herbicide. These are the areas that we are under discussions with regulators and will find out what divestments are necessary to ensure that competition remains strong in the future,” Condon said.

Bayer Crop Science, Condon said, is also stepping up its focus on using digital technologies to boost farm productivity. It is collaborating with companies such as Bosch, FaunaPhotonics and Quantified Planet among others to bring out digital solutions for farming. Bayer is also investing €200 million to develop it’s digital farming business by 2020.

Currently, Bayer is providing digital solutions in more than 30 countries to over 2,50,000 users and is looking to expand this business rapidly.

Adrian Percy, Global R&D Head at Bayer Crop Science, said the company was investing €1 billion annually in R&D to bring new products to the market to help address major challenges faced by farmers worldwide. Bayer, Percy said, expects to launch 15 new products by 2020.

Reiterating that the company was committed to safety and transparency, Percy said that Bayer will soon make available public all the safety data for a large number of active substances through a web portal.

The writer is in Monheim at the invitation of Bayer Crop Science

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