Bayer AG's $62.5 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co. is expected to face regulatory hurdles from the U.S. Department's of Justice's antitrust division, Bloomberg News reported, citing anonymous sources.
The U.S. government believes the German drug and crop chemicals-maker's plan to sell several businesses falls short of resolving its competition concerns and wants Bayer to divest more assets, according to the news outlet.
While both sides are conducting negotiations, it will probably take several months for the government to give its final decision.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim is leading the review of the deal and has met with Bayer CEO Werner Baumann and Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant, Bloomberg News reported
The German conglomerate is in talks to sell its entire vegetable seeds business to Rhein, Germany-based chemicals company BASF SE to allay regulatory concerns.
BASF has already agreed to buy some of Bayer's crop science businesses for €5.9 billion.
After several delays, the European Union is expected to conditionally approve the Bayer-Monsanto deal. Meanwhile, Bayer has pushed back the closing of the deal to the second quarter of 2018.
