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By Alberto Delclaux 
 

German chemical company Bayer AG (BAYN.XE) on Wednesday won conditional European Union approval for its more than $60 billion takeover of Monsanto Co. (MON) after the companies offered remedies worth more than 6 billion euros ($7.38 billion) to assuage antitrust concerns.

As part of the remedies, Bayer plans to sell extensive assets to BASF SE (BAS.XE). It has committed to divest most of its global broadacre seeds and trait business, glufosinate assets and three lines of research for non-selective herbicides to BASF, as well as Monsanto's nematode seed-treatment assets. BASF is also the proposed buyer for Bayer's entire vegetable seeds business.

Bayer and Monsanto agreed to team up in 2016 but have faced considerable delays in executing the deal due to negotiations over asset sales and the amount of documents regulators have to process. The deal will create a sector powerhouse and focus Bayer heavily toward agriculture.

The commission said Wednesday that Bayer and BASF need to provide further evidence of BASF's ability to become an active competitor of the merged company. The acquisition can only be implemented once the commission signs off on the divestment package to BASF, it said.

"Our decision ensures that there will be effective competition and innovation in seeds, pesticides and digital agriculture markets also after this merger," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.

Bayer will also licence a copy of its current offering on digital agriculture to BASF, which it said would safeguard competition in that market.

Bayer said it aims to close the transaction in the second quarter and continues to work with the U.S. Department of Justice on final approval.

Write to Alberto Delclaux at alberto.delclaux@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2018 08:51 ET (12:51 GMT)