On October 13, 2017, Bayer announced an agreement to sell selected Crop Science businesses to BASF for a base price of €5.9 billion. The package included Bayer’s global glufosinate-ammonium herbicide business, LibertyLink herbicide-tolerance technology, selected seed businesses, and related research and breeding capabilities. It was part of the divestitures Bayer proposed in connection with its planned acquisition of Monsanto—not a standalone transaction announced as current.
What Bayer agreed to sell
The agreement covered more than a herbicide brand. BASF described the assets as a portfolio of agricultural businesses and capabilities spanning herbicides, crop traits, seeds, and research. The announced scope included:
- Herbicide business: Bayer’s global glufosinate-ammonium business, marketed under brands including Liberty, Basta, and Finale.
- Trait technology: LibertyLink herbicide-tolerance technology, including the LibertyLink trait and trademark.
- Selected seed businesses: field-crop seed operations in specified crops and regions.
- Research and breeding: associated trait research and breeding capabilities for the crops covered by the package.
BASF’s announcement described the seed and research scope as follows:
| Crop or asset | Geography described by BASF | Included capability |
|---|---|---|
| Canola hybrids | North America | Seed business and related research and breeding capabilities |
| Oilseed rape | Mainly Europe | Seed business and related research and breeding capabilities |
| Cotton | The Americas and Europe | Seed business and related research and breeding capabilities |
| Soybeans | The Americas | Seed business and related research and breeding capabilities |
The geographic descriptions identify the businesses in the announced package; they should not be read as a complete statement of later product availability or sale territories.
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Price, financial figures, and employees
Bayer stated a base purchase price of €5.9 billion. BASF separately reported that the businesses it would acquire generated about €1.3 billion in sales and about €385 million in EBITDA in full-year 2016. Those are historical operating figures for 2016, not the purchase price or a forecast.
In a March 2018 update, Bayer reported €1.5 billion in total sales for the first divestiture package in 2017. That figure is a different year and measure from BASF’s 2016 sales and EBITDA figures. Bayer also said more than 1,800 employees would transfer with the agreed businesses.
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Why the sale was tied to Bayer’s Monsanto acquisition
Bayer presented the sale as part of its response to competition concerns surrounding its proposed Monsanto acquisition. The U.S. Department of Justice described Liberty as a key competitor to Roundup and included the sale in the competition remedy. That is the department’s characterization of the competitive issue, rather than an independent product comparison.
In announcing the U.S. resolution, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim called the remedy “the largest negotiated merger divestiture ever required by the United States” and said it would preserve competition in agricultural products and protect farmers and consumers. The statement referred to the broader divestiture package, not only the Liberty business.
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What had to happen before the agreement could close
Bayer’s October 2017 announcement said completion was subject to regulatory approvals and successful closing of Bayer’s Monsanto acquisition. The announcement therefore described a conditional agreement, not a completed transfer on that date.
The initial package should also be distinguished from later divestitures. Bayer’s 2018 update discussed a separate additional package, including vegetable-seed assets; those assets should not be folded into the original Liberty agreement.
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What the LibertyLink name means in a later U.S. document
A Bayer 2025 U.S. Technology Stewardship Agreement provides a narrow example of how trait access can involve separate technology agreements: it says growers need a current BASF Grower Technology Agreement before purchasing certain canola products containing the LibertyLink trait. This is a U.S.-specific requirement described in that document; it does not establish availability or terms for every LibertyLink product, or requirements outside its scope.
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