Bayer Cuts Forecast for Monsanto Cost Savings

Bayer has had to reduce its forecast for cost synergies relating to the Monsanto takeover, CEO Werner Baumann said at the German group’s annual general meeting on May 25. Synergies from the merger already approved in the EU but not yet in the US should now total $1.2 billion annually from 2022 rather than the $1.5 billion forecast when the plans were unveiled in September 2016, he suggested.

Nevertheless, Baumann said Bayer’s management is “convinced that this acquisition has very great potential for creating value."

To blame for the lowered expectations are evidently the many divestments ordered by anti-trust authorities, including the European Commission, in exchange for approval, meaning that there will be fewer overlaps from which to realize savings. Lower savings will translate into less cash to pay the loans needed to cover the transaction.

Altogether, Bayer still needs to finance some $44 million of the $62.5-billion Monsanto acquisition sum, the German business newspaper Handelsblatt calculated. The paper said the Leverkusen group “will indebt itself massively, but  added that the debt burden would be manageable if the combination of its agriculture segment with the US group “turns into the promised cash machine."

The last major regulatory instance, the US Department of Justice, must approve the deal by Jun. 14. After that, Monsanto could withdraw if all required approvals have not been obtained.

At the meeting, Baumann said he expects the acquisition to be approved “in the near future."  For several months, reports have persisted that approval is imminent, without any indication of what that means.