Ag company’s takeover bid rebuffed

A Swiss agriculture firm has rebuffed takeover efforts from a U.S. competitor said to be interested in moving its headquarters offshore.

Monsanto, based in St. Louis, had approached the Swiss firm Syngenta about a potential merger. But Syngenta rejected a $45 billion bid on Friday, according to media reports, saying it undersold the company’s value.

{mosads}For Monsanto, part of the appeal of a merger would have been the ability to shift its legal address abroad, lowering its tax bill in the process. Democrats and the Obama administration have proposed cracking down on those sorts of agreements, known as corporate inversions.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) urged Monsanto against the merger on Thursday.