Monsanto Scrubs Acquisition Of Deere Equipment Business After Antitrust Concerns

Monsanto Co. said late Monday it's no longer pursuing a deal to acquire a crop-planting equipment business from Deere & Co. following delays resulting from Justice Department concerns. Back in November 2015, Monsanto's Climate Corp. subsidiary announced plans to acquire Deere's Precision Planting LLC equipment business, but in August, the Justice Dept. filed an antitrust lawsuit challenging the deal. Shares of Monsanto and Deere were both unchanged after hours. Monsanto shares closed Monday up 0.2% at $116.87, and Deere shares finished up 0.3% at $111.97.