Monsanto (MON): Playing Musical Chairs with BASF - UBS

UBS analyst, John Roberts, commented on Bloomberg reporting that Monsanto (NYSE: MON) revives talks with BASF – one of “Big 6” to be left out. The other “Big 6” seed & pesticide producers including Dow & DuPont (who are merging), Syngenta (in deal with ChemChina), Bayer (which has a bid for MON), and BASF. Given the limited overlap between seeds and pesticides, the analyst believes MON could pass antitrust issues with either Bayer or BASF (both with broad pesticide portfolios), but one (or both) could be left without a chair when the deal music stops (although there are many mid-tier pesticide producers as well). MON has said that it is strategically important to align its leading seed position with a broad portfolio of pesticides (including pesticide new product commercialization capabilities).

No change to price target of $122.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Monsanto click here. For more ratings news on Monsanto click here.

Shares of Monsanto closed at $101.13 yesterday.

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