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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Henry Niman who wrote (837)	1/6/1999 8:36:00 AM
From: jopawa	Respond to of 2539

Tuesday January 5, 6:37 pm Eastern Time INTERVIEW-Delta says Monsanto divestment necessary ORLANDO, Florida, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A sale by Monsanto Co (NYSE:MTC - news) of its cotton seed subsidiary must be carried out before its acquisition of top cotton seed maker Delta and Pine Land Co (NYSE:DLP - news), Murray Robinson, vice-chairman of Delta and Pine Land, said on Tuesday. ''I would believe that Monsanto has recognized and has agreed with the government, perhaps on an informal basis, that they certainly would not try to retain Stoneville subsequent to merger with Delta and Pine Land because it would put too much of the cotton seed marketing capability in one corporate sphere,'' Robinson told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the annual Beltwide Cotton conference here. Robert Fraley, co-president of Monsanto's Agriculture Sector, announced on Monday the agro-chemical giant would sell its wholly owned subsidiary Stoneville Pedigreed Seed Co. through an auction in early 1999. Industry analysts said the sale was aimed at helping Monsanto secure final approval from the Justice Department in Washington of its proposed purchase of Delta and Pine Land. The sale would also raise needed cash for Monsanto, they said. Stoneville, with a 10-15 percent market share, is the second largest cotton seed breeder in the United States after Delta and Pine Land, which controls about 50-55 percent of the domestic cotton seed market. The Justice Department, which oversees anti-trust issues, asked Monsanto in June for more details of its planned acquisition, a month after the deal was announced. Robinson said the review undertaken by Justice was meant to ''ensure that the competitive structure that farmers face is no less restrictive than it was prior to the merger.'' He added that there were still issues that Monsanto and the government would be discussing before the acquisition of Delta and Pine Land could be finalized.