On Wednesday, Missouri-based seed giant Monsanto announced that it will no longer be pursuing a merger with Swiss agro-chemical manufacturer Syngenta, after the company rejected Monsanto’s third bid in as many months this week.

In a statement, Monsanto said it “continues to believe a combination with Syngenta would have created tremendous value for shareowners of both companies and farmers.” Monsanto increased its buyout price by $2 billion to $47 billion (or £30 bn) and offered a higher reverse break-up fee of $3 bn if the merger failed to gain regulatory approval, but Basel-based Syngenta said Monsanto’s sweeter deal did not meet its financial expectations.

Monsanto confirmed it had submitted another bid for Syngenta on 18th August, which was the cause of speculation this week, and in its statement the company said it will work on its own existing businesses given Syngenta’s response to its overtures.

On Wednesday evening, Syngenta issued a statement in response. The Swiss chemical manufacturer said that, after engaging with Monsanto on the company’s latest bid, the Syngenta Board unanimously rejected the revised proposal, as it It “significantly undervalued the company and was fraught with execution risk.”

In its statement, Syngenta said that Monsanto had not provided company advisors with sufficient details to allow them to make a proper assessment of the proposed new company that would come out of the merger, which would have been 30 percent owned by Syngenta shareholders.

Commenting, Syngenta chair Michel Demaré said, "We engaged with Monsanto in good faith and highlighted those key issues which required more concrete information in order to continue a dialogue. We take note of Monsanto's decision. Our Board is confident that Syngenta's long-term prospects remain very attractive with a leading portfolio and a promising pipeline of new products and technologies. We are committed to accelerate shareholder value creation."