Frankfurt | Reuters — German drugs and pesticide maker Bayer on Wednesday reaffirmed it would hold on to its crop chemicals business as talk of consolidation in the industry continued.
Asked for a comment on remarks by Monsanto executives that the U.S. seeds giant was in internal discussions about tie-ups in the industry, a Bayer spokesman said the CropScience unit was an “integral part” of Bayer.
“We have just recently announced our focus on life science businesses. That includes both HealthCare and CropScience,” he said.
Monsanto executives said on Tuesday they were discussing whether they should acquire or merge with major rivals in the seed and agrochemical industries.
Bayer is the world’s second-largest farming pesticides maker after Syngenta.
— Reporting for Reuters by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt.
