After the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. Department of Justice had given the all clear to the Bayer $62.5 million bid to acquire Monsanto, stocks jumped for both companies this week. Bayer shares jumped nearly 5 percent in the early morning on Tuesday, while Monsanto stock rose 6.6. percent to $125.66.
The approval was granted after Bayer agreed to sell additional seed and treatment assets to BASF.
No official statements from Bayer or Monsanto yet on the matter. Monsanto said in a news release last week they were optimistic on closure of the merger with Bayer:
With Bayer leading the regulatory process for the pending merger, the companies continue to cooperate with regulators and have seen solid progress. The number of anti-trust approvals continues to increase, most notably from the European Commission, China and Brazil, and, as a part of this process, Bayer has announced several planned divestitures. With these actions, Monsanto continues to be confident in the companies’ collective ability to secure the required approvals within the second calendar quarter of 2018 and in the time contemplated by the agreement.
