ANTITRUST officials around the world who are already grappling with a wave of consolidation across agriculture will be forced to sort through a new layer of complexity now that Bayer has clinched a deal to buy Monsanto to create a seed and crop-chemical giant.In a sign of just how protracted the review will be, the companies said they will seek approval in 30 jurisdictions around the world, including the US, EU, Canada and Brazil, and do not expect to close until the end of 2017.EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says the goal is to ensure farmers "enjoy affordable prices, choice and not to be locked in with just one provider."The $66bn tie-up — the biggest deal in 2016 — follows months of mergers that are consolidating agriculture’s top seed and chemical producers into a knot of global powerhouses. While the companies say the overlaps between their businesses are minimal, their tie-up creates a large combined footprint in cottonseeds and crop-chemicals, and may raise co...
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