Bayer to buy biotech giant Monsanto

German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer has won over US seeds firm Monsanto with an improved takeover offer of around $66bn (€59bn), ending months of wrangling after increasing its bid for a third time.

The $128 a share deal, up from Bayer’s previous offer of $127.50 a share, is the biggest of the year so far and the largest cash bid on record.

The deal will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry.