OREANDA-NEWS. Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) and The Climate Corporation said they plan to contest legal action announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that seeks to block Deere's acquisition of Precision Planting.

In November, Deere and The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company, announced they had signed a definitive agreement for Deere to acquire the Precision Planting LLC equipment business, and the companies cooperated fully with DOJ's antitrust review.

DOJ's allegations about the competitive impacts of the transaction are misguided and the companies intend to defend the transaction vigorously against those allegations.  Deere has long been focused on helping American farmers become more efficient and productive so that they can remain globally competitive.  The proposed acquisition benefits farmers by accelerating the development and delivery of new precision equipment solutions that help farmers increase yield and productivity.  

Competition in precision agriculture is strong and growing in all of these channels as companies around the world continue developing new technologies.  The acquisition will enable broader access to these advancements by ensuring farmers the choice to either buy new machinery or retrofit older planting equipment with the latest new innovations.  When the transaction is finalized, Deere will preserve Precision Planting's independence in order to ensure innovation and speed-to-market and will invest in additional innovation efforts at Precision Planting to benefit customers.