MOSCOW (MRC) -- The investment company Temasek has signed an agreement to subscribe to 31 million new shares of Bayer, corresponding to around 3.6 percent of the capital stock, for total gross proceeds of EUR3 billion, as per Bayer's press release.
With the consent of the Supervisory Board, the Board of Management of Bayer AG resolved to execute the capital increase out of authorized capital against cash contributions and excluding the subscription rights of existing Bayer shareholders. Under the agreement, Bayer is to issue to a subsidiary of Temasek at an at-market price the new registered (no-par value) shares with an entitlement to dividends as of January 1, 2017.
On completion of the capital increase, together with its existing shareholdings in Bayer, Temasek will hold approximately 4 percent of the issued capital stock of Bayer. The shares issued to Temasek will not be subject to any lock-up period. "We are very pleased that Temasek has significantly increased its holding in our company. Temasek takes equity positions in leading companies globally and is a long-term investor," said Bayer CEO Werner Baumann. "This investment affirms our business strategy including the proposed acquisition of Monsanto, as well as Bayer’s strong growth prospects."
The proceeds from this placement will be taken into account when determining the size of the previously announced share capital increase through a rights offering with subscription rights to existing shareholders to finance the proposed acquisition of Monsanto.
As MRC wrote before, in the second half of March 2018, Bayer received the green light from the EU to buy Monsanto, after promising to sell off substantial parts of its business, clearing a major hurdle to the last of a trio of mega-mergers consolidating the global agrochemical industry.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas. Bayer's products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. In fiscal 2017, the Group employed around 99,800 people and had sales of EUR35.0 billion.
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