NEW YORK/FRANKFURT — German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer has won over US seeds firm Monsanto with an improved takeover offer of about $66bn, ending months of wrangling, after increasing its bid for a third time.The $128 a share deal, up from Bayer’s previous offer of $127.50 a share, is the biggest of the year so far and the largest cash bid on record.The deal will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides, in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry.However, competition authorities are likely to scrutinise the tie-up closely, and some of Bayer’s own shareholders have been highly critical of a takeover plan, which they say risks overpaying and neglecting the company’s pharmaceutical business.The transaction includes a break-fee of $2b that Bayer will pay to Monsanto should it fail to get regulatory clearance. Bayer expects the deal to close by the end of 2017.The details confirm what a source close to the mat...
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