MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Germany’s Bayer filed a claim to the Moscow Arbitration Court to invalidate the resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia, according to the case file of the court. No claim details are reported and the date of its review has not yet been fixed.
Head of FAS Igor Artemyev confirmed this information. "The largest German company Bayer, which is merging with the US biotechnology company Monsanto, has just taken a legal action against us. We demand from them to transfer a significant portion of technologies to our agricultural sector in response to a consent of the antimonopoly authority," the official said.
The FAS demands a transfer of technologies in the selection sphere and access to databases in the digital farming area in order to prevent limiting of competition on the Russian market, Artemyev said. "This is our first litigation with them. They filed [a claim] this week and said they are ready not to perform this deal in the territory of Russia, and will generally leave [Russia]. We hope to prevail in these proceedings," he said.
The action filed against the FAS does not exclude a dialog with the Russian regulator, a representative of Bayer told TASS.
"This is a procedural step that does not deprive the parties of the opportunity to hold talks for the purpose of reaching a mutually beneficial agreement in support of innovative development of the Russian agricultural sector," the representative said.
"The parties hold a dialog but has not yet reached an agreement," he said. "Bayer decided to apply to court for protection of its legal rights," the representative added.
Bayer intends to buy Monsanto for $66 bln. The FAS arrived at a conclusion when reviewing the deal in Russia that the transaction can create significant risks for competition on the Russian market. The Russian antimonopoly regulator said that it would endorse the Russian part of the deal if Buyer complies with requirements, including the technology transfer in the selection sphere.