US agriculture and seed giant Monsanto said Wednesday that it would sell Syngenta's seeds and traits assets to address regulatory concerns if the Swiss company accepts its takeover offer. In a statement ahead of its annual investors conference, Monsanto outlined the strategy behind its unsolicited acquisition bid for Syngenta to create a company "redefining the future of agriculture."
A combined company would create a giant in global agricultural biotechnology: Monsanto is number one in seeds and Syngenta ranks third. Syngenta is the world leader in products to protect crops. But Syngenta announced on May 8 that it had rejected Monsanto's offer of 449 Swiss francs per share.