Deere emphasizes importance of precision agriculture despite termination of acquisition

MOLINE, Ill., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) announced it was informed by Monsanto Company that it has chosen to terminate a 2015 agreement for Deere to acquire the Precision Planting LLC business.  

"We are deeply disappointed in this outcome as we remain confident the acquisition would have benefited customers," said John May, President, Agricultural Solutions and Chief Information Officer.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice brought legal action in an attempt to block the transaction. Deere and Monsanto were prepared to present their case for approval of the acquisition later this year. May said, "With an opportunity to see this to conclusion, we believe it would have been clear the challenge to the transaction was based on flawed assessments of the marketplace."

Two agreements related to Deere's purchase of Precision Planting will also be terminated, including the digital collaboration agreement between Deere and The Climate Corporation, a division of Monsanto. Also ending is an agreement that would have allowed Ag Leader to expand access to and distribution of certain Precision Planting products and technologies.

"As a world leader in precision agriculture, John Deere will continue developing technology-based products and services to help customers improve the productivity and profitability of their operations," May said.

He added that Deere will remain focused on enabling customers to efficiently leverage their data to drive better decisions on their farms through the John Deere Operations Center, which includes nearly 75 connected software tools with the total continuing to increase.

Deere & Company is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land – those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a tradition of integrity. For more information, visit www.JohnDeere.com.

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SOURCE Deere & Company