ChemChina plans to buy Syngenta for 41.7 billion francs

China National Chemical Corp plans to buy Syngenta AG at a price that could reach 41.7 billion francs, making it one of the biggest acquisitions by a Chinese company of a European firm.

According to Bloomberg, state-owned ChemChina is in talks to buy the Swiss pesticide maker for 449 francs a share, which translates to 41.7 billion francs of $42 billion. Syngenta is now valued at $32 billion. People familiar with the issue said Syngenta rejected the offer due to regulatory risk. The deal may not be imminent, but there could be an agreement in the following weeks. The pesticide producer is also open to other interested company.

Nasdaq reported that Agricultural products company Monsanto Co discontinued its plan to acquire Syngenta in August due to recalcitrance on part of Syngenta to its offer. Monsanto increased its offer to 470 francs per share, or $47 billion, from $45 billion in April. Still, the deal didn't push through. Syngenta closed at $69.15 on Thursday trading, a decrease of 0.66 percent, to $0.46. In the after- hours, its stick rose 12.80 percent, or $8.85.

Reuters reported that Syngenta is now under pressure to provide value to its shareholders after rejecting Monsanto's offer, which is why it is also looking into other buyers, besides ChemChina. Meanwhile, some shareholders are disappointed over the deal that didn't happen with Monsanto as they question Syngenta's capabilities to enhance its financial value in a declining commodity market. However, to ensure shareholders of their financial fortunes, Syngenta plans to buy back more than $2 billion worth of stock in September by selling its vegetable seeds business.

Just last month, Syngenta chief financial officer John Ramsay who replaced Mike Mack as the provisional chief executive officer of the company. Mack suddenly quit, perhaps due to pressure from rejecting the Monsanto offer.

Meanwhile, ChemChina recently agreed to acquire 26.2 percent of Italian tiremaker giant Pirelli & C. SpA stake for $7.7 billion.