How would Bayer-Monsanto affect workers, farmers, investors?

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Bayer wants to buy Monsanto for $62 billion, hooking up the German chemical and drug company with the St. Louis-based producer of seeds and weed-killers.

The deal would create a global giant in agriculture technology touching much of global food production through the development of seeds and pesticides.

Here's a look at the deal and what it would mean for farmers, workers, consumers and investors.

The takeover would create the world's largest seed and farm chemical company with a strong presence spread across the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Bayer says that combining research and development as well as product lines would make the two companies worth more together than separately.

Shareholders either pay to sign up or see their share of earnings shrink through dilution of their holdings.

A more complex company with a wider range of business operations can trade at lower prices than a more focused one.

"What we find is that larger firms and more diversified firms are valued less than a single highly specialized firm," says Michael H. Grote, professor of finance at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and an expert on mergers and acquisitions.

Buying an outside business sends a subtle message that the company's existing operations are "less profitable," Grote said.

[...] seeds have been blocked in some countries and been a subject of anxiety among some consumers and the target of environmental activists.

Political resistance to genetically modified crops remains strong in Europe.

Monsanto has only one product there, a pest-resistance variety of maize, and has given up on applications for more after officials failed to act on them despite approval by the European Food Safety Authority.

Chief Finance Officer Johannes Dietsch mentioned marketing and research and development as two areas where synergies could be found.

Analyst Ulrich Huwald at Warburg Research said that the combined