Benzinga Breakdown: Monsanto Acquisition Timeline

• May 12th, rumors surface of a $40B Bayer bid for Monsanto Company MON. Monsanto shares popped 17 percent premarket.
• Bloomberg reports that Piper Jaffray calls the news nothing but “speculation.” Jaffray analyst noted, however, that Bayer would make the best fit of all the potential acquirers.
• The afternoon of May 18th, Reuters reported that Monsanto President and COO Brett Begemann called Bayer takeover rumors “wild speculation.”
• The night of May 18th, Dow Jones reported that Bayer made an unsolicited bid for Monsanto. The offer was confirmed by Monsanto early the next morning.
• May 23rd, Bayer offers $122/share in cash for Monsanto, imputing a $62B valuation. This would have made it the biggest deal of 2016.
• The next day, Monsanto rejected that bid, deeming it financially inadequate. The company indicated they were still eager to continue talks.
• Bayer responded early this morning that they are willing to explore upping the offer.
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Shares of Monsanto traded at $112.66 a half hour into the trading day, up 3 percent.