Syngenta AG (SYT) is under heavy pressure this morning, down nearly 17% in early trading after biotech seed giant Monsanto Company (MON) withdrew its roughly $47 billion hostile bid for Syngenta after a sweetened offer didn’t meet expectations.
U.S.-listed Monsanto confirmed Wednesday that it had raised its offer last week to 470 Swiss francs per share, or roughly $47 billion, from a previous offer of about $45 billion. Syngenta had already rejected two $45 billion offers from Monsanto. Additionally, the company confirmed it had raised its proposed breakup fee to $3 billion from $2 billion.
“Syngenta has communicated that Monsanto’s enhanced proposal did not meet Syngenta’s financial expectation,” Monsanto said in a news release, adding that while it still believes in the value of a merger of the two agricultural seed and chemical giants, for now it will focus on building its core business and meeting long-term growth objectives.
Monsanto shares surged more than 8% after the news.
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