German-headquartered Bayer AG, the chemicals and pharmaceutical company, has made an open offer to acquire 26 per cent additional stake in Monsanto India.

Bayer AG, along with its Indian arm Bayer CropScience, has proposed to buy up to 44,88,315 shares worth ₹1,300 crore of Monsanto India, said the company in a statement on Wednesday.

Bayer Group has fixed the open offer price at ₹2,926.87 per share and the maximum size of the open offer will be for ₹1,314 crore, it added.

The open offer will start on July 27. The open offer was triggered as Bayer group completed the $63-billion deal to acquire Monsanto on June 7.

As part of the global deal, Bayer Group indirectly acquired 72.14 per cent stake in Monsanto India.

Both the listed Indian units, Bayer CropScience and Monsanto India, will continue to operate independently for the time being, said Bayer in a statement earlier. The deal was initially announced in September 2016 and was completed after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals from various countries, including the US and India.

Bayer Group is present in India since 1896 and has presence in crop science and pharmaceutical.

Over a period of time, Germany’s Bayer AG plans retire the 117-year-old US seeds maker name.

“Bayer will remain the company name. Monsanto will no longer be a company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio,” it had said.

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