La Comisión Europea anunció el 22 de agosto que abrió una investigación en profundidad para evaluar la adquisición propuesta de Monsanto por Bayer, citando preocupaciones de que la fusión pueda reducir la competencia en áreas como pesticidas, semillas y rasgos.
La comisionada Margrethe Vestager, a cargo de la política de competencia, dijo: “Las semillas y los productos pesticidas son esenciales para los agricultores y, en última instancia, para los consumidores. Necesitamos asegurar una competencia efectiva para que los agricultores puedan tener acceso a productos innovadores, de mejor calidad y también comprar productos a precios competitivos. Y, al mismo tiempo, mantener un entorno en el que las empresas puedan innovar e invertir en productos mejorados ".
The proposed acquisition of Monsanto (US) by Bayer (Germany) would create the world’s largest integrated pesticides and seeds company. It would combine two competitors with leading portfolios in non-selective herbicides, seeds and traits, and digital agriculture. Both companies are active in developing new products in these areas. Moreover, the transaction would take place in industries that are already globally concentrated, as illustrated by the recent mergers of Dow y Dupont y Syngenta y ChemChina, en el que la Comisión intervino para proteger la competencia en beneficio de agricultores y consumidores.
The Commission’s preliminary concerns
La Comisión tiene preocupaciones preliminares de que la adquisición propuesta podría reducir la competencia en varios mercados diferentes dando como resultado precios más altos, menor calidad, menos opciones y menos innovación. En particular, la investigación de mercado inicial identificó preocupaciones preliminares en las siguientes tres áreas:
- Plaguicidas
Monsanto’s pesticide product glyphosate is the most sold non-selective herbicide in Europe. Bayer produces glufosinate ammonium, also a non-selective herbicide and one of the very few alternatives to glyphosate. According to the Commission’s preliminary investigation, Monsanto and Bayer are two of a limited number of competitors in this field capable of discovering new active ingredients and developing new formulations, including addressing the growing problem of weed resistance to existing products.
In addition, the Commission will further assess both Monsanto’s activities in biological pesticide products that would compete with Bayer’s existing portfolio of chemical pesticide products, and the parties’ overlapping activities in products that tackle varroa mites, a parasite affecting bee colonies in Europe. - Semillas
Bayer and Monsanto are both active in the breeding of vegetable seeds. The Commission’s initial investigation shows that the parties have high combined market shares in a number of these vegetable seeds markets, and that some of their products compete directly with each other.
Bayer y Monsanto también participan activamente en el mejoramiento y la concesión de licencias de semillas para varios cultivos de campo. Monsanto tiene la cuota de mercado más alta de semillas de colza en Europa. Bayer, con la mayor participación de mercado en semillas de colza a nivel mundial, es uno de los pocos actores con los medios para competir intensamente en este mercado. Además, ambas partes son importantes otorgantes de licencias de semillas de algodón para sus competidores en Europa, y ambas están invirtiendo en programas de investigación e innovación para el trigo. - Rasgos
Un rasgo es una característica de una planta, como la altura, la tolerancia a herbicidas y la resistencia a insectos o enfermedades, y puede desarrollarse en laboratorios e introducirse en determinadas variedades de plantas.
The Commission’s preliminary investigation indicates that Monsanto has a dominant position in several traits markets worldwide. Bayer is one of the few competitors to Monsanto in certain traits markets, and has notably developed alternative herbicide tolerance traits to Monsanto’s. The Commission will investigate in particular whether the transaction could lead to a reduction of competition in these markets, taking into account the existing links between the few worldwide competitors through cross-licensing and through research and development cooperations.
Finally, the merged entity would hold both the largest portfolio of pesticides products and the strongest global market positions in seeds and traits, making it the largest integrated company in the industry. The Commission will further investigate whether competitors’ access to distributors and farmers could become more difficult if Bayer and Monsanto were to bundle or tie their sales of pesticide products and seeds, notably with the advent of digital agriculture. Digital agriculture consists in the collection of data and information about farms with the aim of providing tailored advice or aggregated data to farmers. Both Bayer and Monsanto are currently investing in this emerging technology.
La transacción fue notificada a la Comisión el 30 de junio de 2017. La Comisión ahora tiene 90 días hábiles, hasta el 8 de enero de 2018, para tomar una decisión. La apertura de una investigación en profundidad no prejuzga el resultado final de la investigación.
On July 31, 2017, Bayer and Monsanto submitted commitments to address some of the Commission’s preliminary concerns. However, the Commission considered these commitments insufficient to clearly dismiss its serious doubts as to the transaction’s compatibility with the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission therefore did not test them with market participants.
Given the worldwide scope of Bayer and Monsanto’s activities, the Commission is cooperating closely with other competition authorities, notably with the Department of Justice in the US and the antitrust authorities of Australia, Brazil, Canada and South Africa.
Fuente: Comisión Europea