EU approves Bayer takeover of Monsanto after concessions

BRUSSELS -- The European Union has approved Bayer's buyout of Monsanto in a massive agriculture business deal, but says they will have to shed some $7.4 billion in firms and other remedies to ensure fair competition in the market.

EU Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Wednesday that the remedies proposed by both parties are worth well over 6 billion euros and "meet our competition concerns in full."

Monsanto in September accepted an offer from Bayer to pay $57 billion to its shareholders and assume $9 billion in debt.

Without the remedies, Vestager said that the buyout would have significantly reduced competition in the market and hindered innovation. She said the deal would create the world's largest integrated pesticides and seeds company.

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