(Yicai Global) March 14 -- China's ministry of commerce has given its conditional approval for German drug and life sciences giant Bayer AG's planned USD66 billion acquisition of US agrichemical and seed company Monsanto Co.

China ordered Bayer to spin off some of its global businesses and grant access to the combined company's digital farming products in its domestic agricultural market, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website yesterday.

The decision is part of a long process Leverkusen-based Bayer has to go through to secure the green light from watchdogs in the many countries around the world with which it does business. Under the deal, Bayer intends to acquire all of Monsanto for USD128 a share to make it a wholly-owned subsidiary.

As Bayer and Monsanto's businesses involve many products in China, including herbicides, vegetable seeds, corn, soybeans and precision agriculture market equipment, they have the ability to restrict or phase out competition, the ministry said. It, therefore, decided to approve the case conditionally, asking Bayer to spin off some of its global businesses following the acquisition.

They include Bayer's global vegetable seed, herbicides, corn, soybean, cotton and rapeseed businesses. Bayer will also have to offer fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms for Chinese developers of farm management software to access the merged company's digital agricultural products in China, the ministry added.

Bayer's main business covers pharmaceuticals, consumer health and crop sciences, while St. Louis-based Monsanto works in the production and sale of seeds, transgenic traits, and crop protection products.