Argentina: CNDC to review Monsanto/Bayer merger over concentration concerns

The Argentine government will be taking a closer look at the purchase of Monsanto by its German rival Bayer; the National Commission for the Defense of Competition has launched a new series of studies on this global operation.

The companies granted the Argentine CNDC a permit for the exchange of information with other agencies around the world, which will have to approve this sale originally planned at US$66 billion. This way the CNDC will have access to data handled by the Department of Justice of the United States, the Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE) of Brazil and the European Union.

In Argentina, Bayer and Monsanto own about 220 distributors. Both companies claim to carry complementary products and that the operation will not harm the competitive dynamics of the market. Without considering their the seed business, however, in agrochemicals, Bayer would control almost 25 percent of the market.

Full Content: La Nación

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