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Schering wavers on seed deal
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November 11, 1998: 12:37 p.m. ET
German firm cuts purchase price, may back out of offer to buy Cargill unit
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LONDON (CNNfn) - German pharmaceuticals group Schering has cut the price it is willing to pay for the seed unit of U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill from $650 million to $350 million.
The $650 million price had been agreed on for the North American seeds business, but it has been derailed by a legal dispute.
A recent lawsuit by rival Pioneer Hi-Bred International (PHB) accused Cargill of wrongly obtaining and using genetic material.
Schering officials said if Cargill is found not guilty, the German company will pay up to $500 million for the business.
Cargill executives said they knew nothing about any revised terms for the deal.
"They [Schering] have made no counter-offer to us," Cargill spokeswoman Lori Johnson said. "As far as we are concerned we have a standing definitive agreement (on a $650 million deal)," she added.
Johnson described the lawsuit as "baseless", and said Cargill will fight it "aggressively."
A decision is expected by Dec. 2, although Schering's chief financial officer, Klaus Pohle, said in a conference on the company's third-quarter results that the deal might not proceed at all.
Cargill is the largest privately-owned company in the United States.
Schering reported that revenue for the nine months rose 3 percent and net income rose 7 percent to 375 million marks ($223 million).
-- from staff and wire reports
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Cargill
Pioneer Hi-Bred
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