Cade’s commissioners voted 4-2 in favour of the tie-up under an agreement, negotiated between the companies and global antitrust agencies, that included the sale of several of Bayer’s assets to BASF.

Approval of the transaction in Brazil, a powerhouse producer of grains and other agricultural commodities, clears a crucial hurdle for the deal, which the companies initially aimed to have approved by the end of 2017.

The transaction, valued at US$66 billion when announced in September 2016, would create the world’s largest seeds and pesticides company. The value of the deal has since been revised to $63.5 billion as Monsanto reduced its debt load.

The companies are waiting for approval of the deal in jurisdictions including the European Union and the U.S., where final rulings are still pending.

In Brazil, the transaction faced fierce opposition from soy and cotton growers as well as seed producers who thought it would give the combining companies excessive market power.

Rachel Mendonca, an attorney who represented three associations against the deal, highlighted Cade’s imposition of limits on licensing and sales practices by the new company, but conceded she had lost the argument for more asset sales in Brazil.

Earlier this week, Bayer said in a statement it had proposed solutions to allay antitrust concerns in the EU. Bayer had agreed to sell seed and herbicide businesses to BASF for 5.9 billion euros (C$9.03 billion). It emerged this week the offer would also involve divestments of vegetable seeds business in some EU countries, a source familiar with the matter said.

Most of Cade’s board said those measures would be enough to address antitrust concerns laid out by its technical staff in October, when it recommended the deal be blocked or approved with conditions.

— Reporting for Reuters by Bruno Federowski and Leonardo Goy; additional reporting by Ana Mano in Sao Paulo.

The post Brazilian antitrust agency approves Bayer-Monsanto tie-up appeared first on Farmtario.

Temer’s centre-right government plans to send Congress a bill allowing 100 per cent foreign ownership of airlines, though investors will be obliged to help expand regional flight services, two sources said.

The government will soon propose a bill lifting a ban on foreign investors buying agricultural land in Brazil, on the condition that 10 per cent of any purchase is destined to land reform to benefit landless farmers and peasants, said a presidential aide who was not authorized to speak on the matter.

Temer last year vetoed an aviation bill that would have allowed full foreign ownership of local airlines in an agreement with senators who wanted inclusion of measures to boost regional aviation. The new draft will do just that.

“The initial idea is to reopen regional routes that were abandoned so that they get regular flights again,” a source with knowledge of transport policy said on condition of anonymity.

Foreign companies currently can hold up to a 20 per cent stake in Brazilian airlines. U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc has 9.48 per cent of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA , Brazil’s largest domestic airline.

Counting international routes, the main airline operating in Brazil is TAM, which merged with Santiago, Chile-based Latam Airlines Group SA to become Latin America’s largest carrier.

Two other carriers, Avianca Brasil and Azul Linhas Aereas, are controlled by foreign owners with Brazilian citizenship.

Attracting investors to buy into Brazilian airlines might not be easy due to jet fuel taxes and falling domestic traffic due to the recession. Despite huge market shares, Brazilian carriers have struggled to make a profit.

Plans to open up land to foreign purchases again, however, are bound to draw plenty of investors in Brazil’s expanding agribusiness industry that is seeking new partners.

Brazil restricted the sale of land to foreign investors in 2010 due to concerns that countries such as China could take control of large segments of arable land in the midst of a super commodity boom.

Companies in Brazil’s commodities sector have pushed to review the rules to allow more investment to flow into the country, especially in the pulp, paper and ethanol sectors.

— Reporting for Reuters by Anthony Boadle and Leonardo Goy. Additional reporting for Reuters by Lisandra Paraguassu, Alonso Soto, Maria Pia Sica Palermo and Daniel Flynn.

The post Brazil to open farmland, airlines to foreign buyers appeared first on Farmtario.