German chemical company BASF is carrying out due diligence on the possible acquisition of Bayer's €1.5bn ($1.85bn) vegetable seed business, according to people familiar with the matter. A BASF spokeswoman said the company had answered a questionnaire sent out by the EU Commission on Bayer’s draft commitments, and was now "evaluating any remedy assets from the Bayer/Monsanto transaction that show a strategic and economic fit". Additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels, The European Commission, which has been investigating whether Bayer acted in breach of antitrust rules when it bought Monsanto, declined comment.
German chemical company BASF is carrying out due diligence on the possible acquisition of Bayer's €1.5bn ($1.85bn) vegetable seed business, according to people familiar with the matter. A BASF spokeswoman said the company had answered a questionnaire sent out by the EU Commission on Bayer’s draft commitments, and was now "evaluating any remedy assets from the Bayer/Monsanto transaction that show a strategic and economic fit". The European Commission, which has been investigating whether Bayer acted in breach of antitrust rules when it bought Monsanto, declined comment.