John Paulson’s hedge fund has taken stake in the Swiss pesticide maker Syngenta AG.
Paulson & Co. may push for Syngenta’s board of directors to accepted a takeover bid from the U.S. Monsanto, reports Reuters. Monsanto, the largest seed company in the world, made a $45 billion bid for Syngenta in May but was rejected. Syngenta and Monsanto have continued negotiations, but Syngenta fears the very high antitrust risks such a deal could bring, reports Bloomberg. Monsanto says it would sell off Syngenta’s seed business and other assets to protect against such concerns.
Paulson has acquired shares of companies such as Mylan and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in the past that have received and rejected similar takeover bids in order to push the companies to accept the offers.
Photo: Mike Mozart via Flickr.