Bayer AG said the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division granted conditional approval to its $62.5 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co.
The German agrochemical giant said the U.S. approval has given the company almost all clearances required to close the deal, which was signed in September 2016.
Bayer said it expects to receive the remaining approvals shortly, after which it will become the sole shareholder of Monsanto, the world's top seed supplier.
Under the conditional approval, the merger can take place after the completion of proposed divestments to German chemical company BASF SE.
The company has agreed to sell large parts of its crop science business to BASF in two separate €1.7 billion and €5.9 billion transactions.
Bayer, which also sells pharmaceutical products, said the divestments are expected to be completed in about two months.
The company has already received the European Commission's conditional approval in March and expects to complete the transaction in the second quarter of 2018.
