S&C’s antitrust team took home two of the evening’s biggest awards at Global Competition Review’s 2019 GCR Awards. Bayer AG’s $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co. was named overall “Matter of the Year” and was also recognized as “Merger Control Matter of the Year – Europe.”
The antitrust team advising Bayer in this historic deal was led by S&C lawyers Juan Rodriguez and Axel Beckmerhagen in London and by Steve Holley, Dustin Guzior and Brad Smith in New York. The team had previously been recognized by The American Lawyer for reaching an antitrust settlement with the DOJ to ensure the successful completion of the deal. S&C’s work on this matter was also highlighted by Law360, honoring our antitrust practice as a 2018 Practice Group of the Year.
The deal, which combined two of the world’s largest agricultural input suppliers, required a bold approach to ensure its final approval by regulators. S&C’s antitrust team crafted an innovative strategy which involved a global divestiture of almost $9 billion in assets as well as an orchestrated campaign to work with regulators in more than 30 jurisdictions around the world. In the end, the deal was successful because of the team’s ability to think creatively and work tirelessly. The GCR awards are held annually to honor the best in competition enforcement, merger and cartel defense.