Monsanto-Syngenta Could Hinge On A Judgment Of Solomon Inspired Solution
May 26, 2015 In the bible, the reputation of King Solomon’s wisdom in matters of despite comes from a tale of one child and two mothers. Both claimed ownership of the child. Unable to determine which was the true parent, King Solomon is said to have called for the child to be cut in two, with each mother being given a half. Of course, when one woman objected to this plan, Solomon declared her the true mother, sparing the child from this cruel separation.
But companies are not people, and splitting them into two entities is somewhat common. According to many market analysts, this might be the ultimate fate of Syngenta if it is acquired by Monsanto. Last week, several published reports indicated Monsanto is actively trying to line up buyers for certain Syngenta assets worth $8 billion to appease competition authorities in Europe and the U.S. Most of this speculation centered on off-loading Syngenta’s seed business while Monsanto would hang on to the crop protection products portion. At present, Monsanto is estimated to control approximately 25% of the global seed market. Syngenta seed, meanwhile, holds approximately 8% market share.
Loading ...Perspective buyers for Syngenta seeds from Monsanto could include any number of large crop protection product manufacturers such as Dow, Bayer or BASF. This makes sense, at least in the case of BASF. Since 2007, Monsanto has had a working relationship with the company on developing seeds, so the prospect of gaining a foothold in this market could be appealing to BASF’s management.
At present, say the reports, Monsanto has thus far been unable to get any other company to commit to making such a purchase if it acquires Syngenta. However, this could change quickly as the acquisition game moves forward over the coming weeks.
No matter what, if Syngenta does end being acquired, it likely will not remain as intact as the child in the King Solomon story. In this case, two different owners will indeed get their halves.
Subscribe Today For
