Sources: Reuters, Syngenta, National Farmers Union

Monsanto announced it is abandoning its pursuit of acquiring Syngenta after the Swiss rival rejected its latest offer, Reuters says.

Monsanto increased its original proposal of roughly $45 billion to about $47 billion this month. It also increased its break-up fee, had antitrust regulators blocked the deal, from $2 billion to $3 billion. 

The Board of Syngenta released a statement saying it unanimously rejected Monsanto’s proposal, citing the company did not provide sufficient clarity on four issues:

1. Its estimate of total cost and revenue synergies.
2. Its assumptions regarding net sales proceeds of seeds and traits.
3. The nature and extent of regulatory covenants that it was prepared to offer.
4. The assessment of risks and benefits from a tax inversion to the United Kingdom.

According to Reuters, Monsanto will now focus on building its core business and meeting long-term growth objectives. It also said it will resume a share buyback program.

Earlier this month the news outlet reported that BASF had secured financing for a potential takeover of Syngenta, but said it would only submit a bid if Monsanto made a formal offer.  

The National Farmers Union (NFU) released a statement saying it was “very pleased” that Monsanto is giving up on the merger. 

“American agriculture is already for too concentrated, leaving family farmers and ranchers at a great disadvantage in the marketplace,” says NFU president Roger Johnson. “This is clearly not only good news for family farmers, but for economically competitive markets as well.”