Bayer is reportedly looking to buy Monsanto — and Monsanto's stock is surging (MON, BAYN)

Thomson Reuters

The chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG is considering making a bid for the agrochemical company Monsanto, Bloomberg's Aaron Kirchfeld, Ruth David, and Dinesh Nair report.

The combined company would become the largest farm-chemicals- and seeds-supplier in the world, according to the report.

Monsanto's stock surged by as much as 20% in pre-market trading.

Monsanto, which has a market cap of about $40 billion, is the maker of the pesticide Roundup.

The two companies have considered other options in addition to a full merger, including Bayer selling its crop-sciences business, according to Bloomberg.

The news follows a couple of other major deals in the agrochemicals space.

The Chinese chemical giant ChemChina in February agreed to buy the Swiss seed-maker Syngenta for $43 billion. In December, Dow Chemical and DuPont announced a $130 billion deal to combine forces.

Read the full Bloomberg story here »

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