Bayer Says It’s Confident It Can Meet Monsanto Deal Demands

Bayer AG, whose $62 billion takeover bid was rejected earlier by Monsanto Co., said it’s confident it can overcome the seed company’s concerns about the regulatory and financing risks related to a deal that would create the world’s largest supplier of seeds and crop chemicals.  The conciliatory tone from both sides sets the stage for an improved offer from Bayer. While Monsanto has consistently traded at less than the $122-a-share offer price since the companies started discussing a deal, the stock rallied in after-hours trading Tuesday in New York following Bayer’s latest comments, rising as high as $113.49. Shares of Bayer rose 0.4 percent to 88.72 euros as of 9:11 a.m. in Frankfurt trading, after climbing almost 4 percent. The company can afford to pay as much as $140 a share, and the deal would still add to “double-digit” growth in earnings in the mid-term, Jeffrey Holford, an analyst at Jefferies LLC