Bayer shareholder warns against overpaying for Monsanto
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer shareholder Union Investment, a German mutual fund company, said it was bracing for Bayer paying more for Monsanto than what the German drugmaker is currently proposing, stretching the limits of what is acceptable.
"The price that has now been disclosed is at the upper limit and it is just about economical," Frankfurt-based portfolio manager Markus Manns told Reuters in a written statement. He said the deal made sense strategically.
"Should (the price) rise further, which is to be assumed, the takeover will become increasingly unattractive," he said.
Bayer earlier said it had made an offer to buy U.S. seeds company Monsanto for $122 per share in cash, or a total value of $62 billion including debt, to create the world's biggest agricultural supplier.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)
