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Cases / Pesticides and agrochemicals · Global · 2018

Bayer buys Monsanto for $66bn; four firms hold most seed and pesticide sales

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018 for US$66 billion, and four firms now hold most global seed and pesticide sales. The sources reviewed do not measure what this concentration does to nature.

What?
Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018 for US$66 billion and sold some businesses to BASF to win approval. Wikipedia
Where?
Global seed and pesticide markets; the 2018–20 retail figures cover US sales CBAN
When?
Acquisition in June 2018; market-share figures published in 2025 Wikipedia
Who?
Gained
  • Bayer — Acquired Monsanto in June 2018 for US$66 billion Wikipedia
  • Corteva and Bayer — Together made more than half of US retail corn, soybean and cotton seed sales in 2018–20
  • BASF — Took over businesses sold to win approval for the deal Wikipedia
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Acquisition of Monsanto, with some businesses sold to BASF to secure approval Wikipedia
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Bayer bought Monsanto in June 2018 for US$66 billion, and some businesses were sold to BASF to win approval (Wikipedia).

ETC Group and GRAIN (2025), as cited by CBAN, put Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta and BASF at about 56% of global seed sales and 61% of pesticide sales; Bayer's own shares were 23% of seeds and 15% of pesticides.

The sources reviewed show that Corteva and Bayer together made more than half of US retail corn, soybean and cotton seed sales in 2018–20.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. Claimant won
      Monsanto patent suit over saved seed
      Not stated in the sources reviewed · Civil · Monsanto → A farmer who saved seed (not named)

      The sources record that Monsanto won the case and that the farmer who saved seed lost. Wikipedia

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The year of the 56% and 61% sales shares is not stated in the sources reviewed.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: a LegalClarity ranking, a secondary source with no year, puts the seed market above US$63 billion and Bayer plus Corteva at 42%.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not measure the effect of the merger on farmers' prices or seed choice.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Communities and civil society

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    PFOA (C8) and PFAS
    PFAS are a large family of human-made chemicals that persist in the environment and the body; PFOA, also called C8, is one of them and was used to make Teflon.
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