German pharmaceutical and chemical giant Bayer has has revealed details of the offer made for American agribusiness Monsanto, after Monsanto confirmed last week that talks had been taking place between the two firms.

On Monday, Bayer revealed it had made an all-cash offer of $122 (£84) per share, valuing St Louis, Missouri-Based Monsanto at $62 billion (£43.5 bn). Bayer is looking to broaden its agricultural portfolio, and Monsanto is a world leader in genetically modified (GM) crop production, herbicide manufacturer (most prominently glyphosate-based RoundUp) and owner of the Dekalb seed brand. Bayer said a combined company “would benefit from Monsanto’s leadership in Seeds & Traits and Bayer’s broad Crop Protection product line,” as well as expanding Bayers’ reach into North and South America.

The takeover bid is set against an agribusiness landscape which is becoming ever more consolidated; Bayer’s unsolicited takeover bid follows Monsanto’s unsuccessful pursuit of Swiss chemical giant Syngenta last year (Syngenta later agreed to a $43 billion takeover bid by ChemChina), and the merger of chemical and biotech companies Dow and DuPont.

In a statement on Monday, Bayer executives revealed they had made the offer in writing on 10th May, and said on Monday that the company’s offer represented a 37% premium on the Monsanto share price before the two companies were linked in takeover rumours, and significant premiums over both the three- and six-month average share price. Bayer disclosed details of its offer in light of “market speculation and stakeholder inquiries”

Bayer AG CEO Werner Baumann said on Monday, “We have long respected Monsanto’s business and share their vision to create an integrated business that we believe is capable of generating substantial value for both companies’ shareholders. Together we would draw on the collective expertise of both companies to build a leading agriculture player with exceptional innovation capabilities to the benefit of farmers, consumers, our employees and the communities in which we operate.”

However, the proposed merger has attracted a deal of controversy and the backlash is expected to grow in Bayer’s native Germany, which stood aside in the EU Council vote on glyphosate last week, over a disagreement between the country’s agriculture and environment ministries. By acquiring Monsanto, a producer of both glyphosate and GM crops, German environmental organisation Bund has said Bayer will risk tarnishing its own reputation, as struggles over the future of GM and glyphosate in the EU show the weight of public sentiment on the issues.

In Germany, the Social Democrats, junior partners in the ruling coalition government, have come out against the deal.

Though Bayer maintains its takeover bid would provide “A compelling opportunity to create a global agriculture leader, while reinforcing Bayer as a Life Science company with a deepened position in a long-term growth industry,” German company BASF withdrew its only GM crop from sale in the EU moved its biosciences work overseas four years ago, citing a hostile environment to GM in Europe. as its reason for doing so.