Monsanto Co has left the door open to a possible deal with Bayer as the US based world’s largest seed company has still not opened its books more than two weeks after it rejected Bayer AG’s $62 billion acquisition, sources that are aware of the developments were quoted in the media as saying.

Since the time that Monsanto, on May 24, turned down its German peer’s $122-per-share cash offer but said it was open to “continued and constructive conversations”, there has been little progress made in the negotiations and the impasse continues over the deal.

Bayer’s offer “significantly undervalues (the) company and also does not adequately address or provide reassurance for some of the potential financing and regulatory execution risks related to the acquisition” Monsanto had said following the Bayer offer and after it rejected the bid.

The sources said on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the talks said that Bayer, has no plans to increase its offer without first reviewing Monsanto’s confidential information.

The sources said that before Bayer can decide whether it can pay a higher price for Monsanto, as well as offer a more detailed plan on how to address potential antitrust risks, the Leverkusen-based company needs access to Monsanto’s books and study them in detail.

The sources also added that currently, Bayer also has no intention to go hostile with its bid.

The assumptions that Monsanto is looking for better terms in order for it to offer the German company access to confidential information has not yet been told directly to Bayer by the St. Louis based Monsanto, one of the sources told the media.

The media reported the sources as saying that Monsanto’s lack of engagement signifies the fact that it does not even consider it as a basis for negotiations, let along the assumption that the US company views Bayer’s offer as being too low.

Monsanto held a regular board meeting last week to approve a quarterly dividend of 54 cents per share but the situation did not change even after the meeting.

While a Monsanto spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comments, Bayer declined to comment.

Bayer had made a new takeover approach to Monsanto that was rebuffed, in part because it didn’t include a higher price, the Wall Street Journal had reported earlier last week.

According to Thomson Reuters data, just ahead of InBev SA’s $60.4 billion offer for Anheuser-Busch in June 2008, Bayer’s unsolicited bid for Monsanto is the largest all-cash takeover on record.

Partly in response to a drop in commodity prices that has hit farm incomes, global agrochemicals companies are racing to consolidate. After Syngenta rejected a bid from Monsanto, ChemChina plans to buy Switzerland’s Syngenta for $43 billion. Dow Chemical Co and DuPont are forging a $130 billion business.

(Source:www.reuters.com)