LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - Brussels launched an in-depth investigation into the possible impact that a tie-up between Bayer and Monsanto might have on competition in areas such as pesticides, seeds and plant traits.
On Tuesday, the European Commission said that a combination of the two companies might reduce competition in the above areas, resulting in higher prices, lower quality, and less choice and innovation.

"Moreover, the transaction would take place in industries that are already globally concentrated, as illustrated by the recent mergers of Dow and Dupont and Syngenta and ChemChina, in which the Commission intervened to protect competition for the benefit of farmers and consumers," Brussels said in a statement.

"Finally, the merged entity would hold both the largest portfolio of pesticides products and the strongest global market positions in seeds and traits, making it the largest integrated company in the industry."

Just as important, according to the Europe's Competition czar Margrethe Vestager, was ensuring that an environment was maintained in which companies could innovate and invest in improved products.

"The Commission will further investigate whether competitors' access to distributors and farmers could become more difficult if Bayer and Monsanto were to bundle or tie their sales of pesticide products and seeds, notably with the advent of digital agriculture."

The EC said it had 90 working days counting from when it initially was notified of the transaction, or until 8 January 2018, to take a decision.

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